Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to her Son

by Homeira Qaderi, Ariana Delawari (Read by), TBD (Read by)

Overview

An exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions. With the city and the military on edge, it was not uncommon for an armed soldier to point his gun at the pregnant woman’s bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Frightened and in pain, she was once forced to make her way on foot. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful son’s birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life.

No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for women’s rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society.

Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mother’s searing letter to a son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her story—and that of Afghan women—Homeira challenges you to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Her story asks you to consider the lengths you would go to protect yourself, your family, and your dignity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781799945871
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ariana Delawari, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a musician, director, and actress. A graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, she directed We Came Home, an award-winning documentary about her journeys to Afghanistan since 9/11, the making of her album “Lion of Panjshir,” and her family story. She recently became the first female of Afghan descent to perform rock music live in Afghanistan in over thirty years. She is also a member of the LA Ladies Choir and was recently a speaker and performer at the inaugural TEDx Kabul.

Dr. Homeira Qaderi is a women’s rights activist originally from Afghanistan. She has published six books in Afghanistan and Iran, some of which have received prestigious awards. Dancing in the Mosque is her first book in English.

Editorial Reviews

Ariana Delawari is a strong, determined voice for this memoir by Homeira Qaderi, who writes about growing up in wartime Afghanistan and about being pregnant and giving birth under the Taliban. She is unflinching in her descriptions of this painful journey, which begins when she is a child. When she grows up, she becomes pregnant, struggles to safely give birth, and then is separated from her child by politics and oceans. Delawari deftly pronounces the many Afghani names of people and places. This is a story of courage, a gripping tale told by a woman who is determined to never forget. Delawari helps us bear witness to the needless suffering of Afghani women living under a harsh regime. M.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Ariana Delawari is a strong, determined voice for this memoir by Homeira Qaderi, who writes about growing up in wartime Afghanistan and about being pregnant and giving birth under the Taliban. She is unflinching in her descriptions of this painful journey, which begins when she is a child. When she grows up, she becomes pregnant, struggles to safely give birth, and then is separated from her child by politics and oceans. Delawari deftly pronounces the many Afghani names of people and places. This is a story of courage, a gripping tale told by a woman who is determined to never forget. Delawari helps us bear witness to the needless suffering of Afghani women living under a harsh regime. M.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile