Children of Afghanistan: The Path to Peace

by Jennifer Heath (Editor), Ashraf Zahedi (Editor)

Overview

The first comprehensive look at youth living in a country attempting to rebuild itself after three decades of civil conflict, Children of Afghanistan relies on the research and fieldwork of twenty-one experts to cover an incredible range of topics. Focusing on the full scope of childhood, from birth through young adulthood, this edited volume examines a myriad of issues: early childhood socialization in war and peace; education, literacy, vocational training, and apprenticeship; refugee life; mental and physical health, including disabilities and nutrition; children’s songs, folktales, and art; sports and play; orphans; life on the streets; child labor and children as family breadwinners; child soldiers and militarization; sexual exploitation; growing up in prison; marriage; family violence; and other issues vital to understanding, empowerment, and transformation.

Children of Afghanistan is the first volume that not only attempts to analyze the range of challenges facing Afghan children across class, gender, and region but also offers solutions to the problems they face. With nearly half of the population under the age of fifteen, the future of the country no doubt lies with its children. Those who seek peace for the region must find solutions to the host of crises that have led the United Nations to call Afghanistan “the worst place on earth to be born.” The authors of Children of Afghanistan provide child-centered solutions to rebuilding the country’s cultural, social, and economic institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292759336
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	11/15/2014
Series:	Louann Atkins Temple Women & Culture Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	388
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

JENNIFER HEATH is an independent scholar, award-winning activist, cultural journalist, curator, and the author and/or editor of eleven books of fiction and non-fiction, including A House White With Sorrow: A Ballad for Afghanistan, The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam, and The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics. She came of age in Afghanistan and is the founder of Seeds for Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Relief Organization Midwife Training and Infant Care Program, now International Midwife Assistance. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

ASHRAF ZAHEDI, Ph.D., is a sociologist and has conducted research at the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara; the Beatrice Bain Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley; the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University; and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She has published many articles in academic journals and coedited Land of the Unconquerable: The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women with Jennifer Heath.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction (Jennifer Heath)
• Part I. The Way We Were; The Way We're Seen
  • Chapter 1. Before the Wars: Memories of Childhood in the Pre- Soviet Era (Amina Kator-Mubarez)
  • Chapter 2. Narratives of Afghan Childhood: Risk, Resilience, and the Experiences that Shape the Development of Afghanistan as a People and a Nation (Anne E. Brodsky)
  • Chapter 3. Jumping Rope in Prison: The Representation of Afghan Children in Film (Teresa Cutler-Broyles)
• Part II. Ties That Bind: The Family in Rebound
  • Chapter 4. Love, Fear, and Discipline in Afghan Families (Deborah J. Smith)
  • Chapter 5. Children Who Live with Their Mothers in Prison (Esther Hyneman)
  • Chapter 6. Little Brides and Bridegrooms: Systemic Failure, Cultural Response (Sharifa Sharif)
• Part III. Survival by Any Means Possible
  • Chapter 7. Confronting Child Labor (Amanda Sim)
  • Chapter 8. The Parakeet Boys: Performing Education in the Streets of Kabul (Wahid Omar)
  • Chapter 9. Child Soldiering in Afghanistan (Delphine Boutin)
  • Chapter 10. Legal Protection: Offering Aid and Comfort (Hangama Anwari)
• Part IV. To Be Whole in Mind and Body
  • Chapter 11. Children's Health: The Challenge of Survival (Steven Solter)
  • Chapter 12. Food Security and Nutrition for Afghan Children (Fitsum Assefa, Annalies Borrel, and Charlotte Dufour)
  • Chapter 13. Desperately Seeking Harun: Children with Disabilities (Lael Adams Mohib)
  • Chapter 14. "Life Feeds on Hope": Family Mental Health, Culture, and Resilience (Mark Eggerman and Catherine Panter-Brick)
• Part V. Education: Nurturing the Future
  • Chapter 15. Education in Transition: A Key Concern for Young Afghan Returnees (Mamiko Saito)
  • Chapter 16. Primary and Secondary Education: Exponential Growth and Prospects for the Future (Omar Qargha)
  • Chapter 17. Music and Literacy: A New Approach to Education (Louise M. Pascale)
• Part VI. Communicating Empowerment
  • Chapter 18. "Thanks God for the Twitter and the Facebook! Thanks God for That!" (Lauryn Oates)
  • Chapter 19. The New Storytellers of Afghanistan (Joanna Sherman)
  • Chapter 20. Six Epiphanies: Testament to Change from Inside an Afghan Orphanage (Ian Pounds)
• Epilogue: Imagining the Future (Ashraf Zahedi)
• Selected Bibliography and Filmography
• About the Contributors
• Index

What People are Saying About This

Erika Friedl

"Children are the silent majority in Afghanistan. Despite development efforts, most are poor with bleak futures in this war-torn country. They also are sadly undereducated, and help from the outside benefits only a few. This great and unique book fills a dire need for information. Its twenty-two contributors discuss the state of affairs of children and childhood thoroughly and with empathy from various points of view and go way beyond stereotypes, pity, and pleas for action. The articles delineate causes for the plight of the young, from political and social history to family relations, from poverty to educational policies. The insights enable readers to appreciate the complexity of social webs in Afghanistan, and enable agents of change to formulate realistic goals for improving conditions of life and help local people attain their aspirations for their children. A font of solid information and heartfelt personal observations, this exceptional, hopeful book not only illustrates children’s and adults’ resilience in the face of privations and danger, but also provokes reflection about the modernist/humanist agenda that drives development efforts."

Sandra B. Cook

"The future of a country lies in its investment in its children, and few [people] could bring more experience and understanding of Afghanistan’s children than the editors of this book, Jennifer Heath and Ashraf Zahedi.

One of the ‘youngest’ countries in the world, Afghanistan has a population with 50 percent under the age of 15. For these youngsters, Afghanistan's wars have been an attack on their childhood. With its thoughtfully and expertly curated collection of essays by key contributors, this book demonstrates how the future of this fragile and conflicted country is tied to its children, and it makes a strong case that they be understood and supported as never before. It gives a comprehensive analysis of issues facing Afghan children and recommends ways to address those issues.

The editors and authors make a strong argument for investing in children and youth as being central to building human capital, fostering development, and securing a lasting peace. The editors urge finally that this is not just a sound policy choice but a moral obligation."

founder and president of the Fund for the Future o Avideh Shashaani

"The book not only skillfully brings to life the rich tapestry and the ancient culture of a war-torn nation through the tender eyes of its children, but it reminds us of the heart of a world where multiple forces continue to crush innocence in their pursuit of dominance.  We close the book with a conflicted feeling—saddened by humanity’s helplessness to stop these senseless wars but inspired by the resilience of children, which keeps the flame of hope alive in a fertile land."

Avideh Shashaani

"The book not only skillfully brings to life the rich tapestry and the ancient culture of a war-torn nation through the tender eyes of its children, but it reminds us of the heart of a world where multiple forces continue to crush innocence in their pursuit of dominance. We close the book with a conflicted feeling—saddened by humanity’s helplessness to stop these senseless wars but inspired by the resilience of children, which keeps the flame of hope alive in a fertile land."

Isobel Coleman

"Although Afghanistan has made significant progress in the past decade, it still faces daunting challenges. Life remains especially harsh for children, with more than half experiencing malnourishment. Children of Afghanistan brings to bear the harsh reality of Afghan childhood and is an important contribution to our understanding of contemporary Afghanistan. Heath and Zahedi’s enlightening volume underscores the need to prioritize children’s lives and development to secure Afghanistan’s future."

Hafizullah Emadi

"No comprehensive study to date chronicles the situation of Afghanistan's children; their suffering, mistreatment, and neglect by the state; their struggle to survive. This book makes a significant contribution, raises international awareness, and would be useful to policymakers engaged in the provision of aid and development, as well as to students and scholars."

No comprehensive study to date chronicles the situation of Afghanistan's children; their suffering

Jasmine Whitbread, CEO, Save the Children International

Marian Wright Edelman

"The future of any society depends on the foundation its children are being given right now. Children of Afghanistan: The Path to Peace is a very important resource."

Deborah Ellis

"Children of Afghanistan: The Path To Peace reminds us of the terrible costs of war on those who are the most vulnerable.  This is an important book."

Jasmine Whitbread

"I highly recommend this book. . . . It will certainly be on the reading list of international staff and senior Afghan managers working for Save the Children in Afghanistan. We all need to know what has been gained for Afghan children at great cost, and what could be lost if we do not demonstrate the grit and solidarity necessary to help Afghanistan through the coming years."

Orzala Ashraf Nemat

"Investing in children means investing in a lasting peace. Children of Afghanistan: The Path to Peace is a great contribution, especially for those who wish to learn about children’s lives in conflict settings and for those in search of ways to invest in children for the long term. Jennifer Heath and Ashraf Zahedi have done a great job of gathering scholars and practitioners to explore many different aspects of Afghan children’s lives and the challenges they face."

This book emphasizes that the future sociopolitical strength of Afghanistan is tied to its children

Hafizullah Emadi, Development Consultant, Afghanistan

Senzil K. Nawid

"This book emphasizes that the future sociopolitical strength of Afghanistan is tied to its children, and that ignoring their needs is tantamount to nullifying most of the efforts of the international community to bring them peace and stability."

Editorial Reviews

"This book is worth reading because it makes clear that childhood represents the future of societies and highlights the need to challenge the adultocentric view."

Allegra