The Underground Girls of Kabul

Starred review from May 26, 2014
Alook at the furtive world of girls who pose as boys illuminates the cruelties of Afghanistan’s tradition of male supremacy in this searing exposé. Journalist Nordberg explores the lives of bacha posh—girls who are made over as boys so that their parents can claim the honor of having a son (or, according to folklore, improve their chances of conceiving a real one). Bacha posh experience what few Afghan females ever do: the freedom to go outside without a chaperone, speak their minds, and lead public lives—until adolescence arrives and they are forced back into femininity and sold off in arranged marriages to live in domestic confinement under their husband’s thumb. Nordberg’s vivid profiles of these girls takes in the quiet, harrowing struggles of other women in a society that accords them few rights. Included is a case of a charismatic woman who is a member of parliament and her family’s sole breadwinner—yet still helplessly subject to her husband’s abuse. Nordberg’s subtle, sympathetic reportage makes this one of the most convincing portraits of Afghan culture in print; through a small breach in the wall of gender apartheid, she reveals the harsh ironies of a system that so devalues women that it forces them to become men. Agent: David Halpern, The Robbins Office.

February 1, 2015

The girls portrayed in this book are not resisting with weapons or spying: they are simply living their lives as boys. The reasons are varied. The family needs help in a store. Women need a "male" relative to walk them on errands. Many girls call their status as a "boy" a type of magic-by showing that the family is ready for a boy, a real male child may arrive. Often, members of the community know the child is really a girl, but accept this gender switch and go along with the ruse. Nordberg focuses her narrative on the adult Azita. Her father educated her, but once she reached her prime childbearing years, she was married off to a rural, illiterate cousin. Somehow, Azita manages to win a government seat in her new district. Western readers will root for Azita to find a way out of this fiercely patriarchal arrangement, but Nordberg is astounding in her ability to elicit sympathy and rage for the women portrayed, while also attempting to explain why more elaborate female resistance may not yet be possible. Teenagers will find a great deal to think about in this well-researched and readable piece of reporting.-Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2014
Investigative journalist Nordberg presents a stunning book that uncovers the history and reality of the enduring Afghani custom of the bacha posh, that is, girls who dress and pass as boys. Far from what readers might expect, this tradition allows families to celebrate the arrival of a male child when the absence of one can have a negative impact. Further, dressing and treating a girl as a boy is believed by some to spur an actual future male birth. In other cases, Nordberg finds the reasoning is more prosaic, for a male child may accompany sisters outside the home. The deeper she gets into the reasons behind the custom, the more she pushes for insight from teenagers abruptly required to convert to womanhood and mothers unaware of how to deal with daughters who then must struggle to adopt the manners and habits adult females must exhibit in their gender-segregated society. Readers will find themselves captivated by the stories of these women, especially those who fight to be bacha posh into adulthood. Nordberg has done some staggering work in this unique, important, and compelling chronicle. Book clubs will be riveted and will talk for hours.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)