One Half from the East (17 page)
Read One Half from the East Online
Authors: Nadia Hashimi
I was raised by parents who never clipped my wings. They taught me by example that girls and boys are equal in what they can achieve. I was cocooned with an extended family who applauded achievements and encouraged aspirations others might have reserved only for boys. For that, I am eternally grateful, for I would be a different person if I'd been taught that I should expect anything less from myself.
Though this story is set in Afghanistan, my hope is that it will inspire dialogue and reflection about the meaning of gender in any land. I chose Afghanistan as the setting because it is the homeland of my family, and also because, when it comes to gender inequality, Afghanistan is infamous.
It wasn't always this way, but the years of war and rise of brutally misogynistic regimes including the Taliban shuttered women in their homes and reduced them to shadows. From such a plummeting fall, there was nowhere to go but up. In a swift and steep effort to recover lost ground, Afghan girls and women are bravely stepping into the sun. Who are today's Afghan women? They are fist-pumping politicians, soaring pilots, determined pupils, poised newscasters, bold artists, savvy businesswomen, probing journalists, and more.
And what about the
bacha posh
?
The longstanding
bacha posh
tradition of Afghanistan is a curiosity for many, but it is also a remarkable way to explore what it means to be a girl. Families without a son may designate a young daughter to fill that void with a simple physical transformation involving swapping out clothing and cutting hair. Before she reaches puberty, the
bacha posh
(girl dressed as a boy) is changed back and resumes life as a girl, a gender that enjoys far less liberty and privilege.
The
bacha posh
tradition exists because sons are valued in a way daughters are not. It exists because there is a perception that boys are capable of things girls are not. Are these thoughts unique to Afghanistan? Sadly, not at all.
There are many ways to devalue girls. It can be as flagrant as barring girls from school or forcing them to
become brides when they should be learning to read. It can also be as insidious as jeering that someone “throws like a girl” or not blinking when a girl's voice is interrupted by that of a boy.
The
bacha posh
is a powerful teacher. By a simple change in attire, her potential changes. Her confidence is lifted. Her worth is multiplied. And yet, she is the same person underneath the shallow veneer of boyhood.
The moment we see past gender and look at the heart of a child, we will see a world of potential that can take him or her all the way to the mountaintop. What a world it would be to see them all soar under the warmth of a proud and nurturing sun.
A Note About Pronunciation
What's in a name? In Afghanistan, there is great importance placed on the meaning of names. Obayda (Oh-BUY-dah) is a name derived from the Arabic language and means “one who is faithful or loyal.” Oftentimes, the male version, Obayd (Oh-BUYD), may be extended as Obayd-allah, meaning one who is faithful to God (Allah).
If it takes a village to raise a child, then books and children have something in common.
My thanks to Helen Heller for believing Rahima should reach a younger audience and for, yet again, gracing the story with Rumi's wisdom. My gratitude to Sarah Heller for your astute guidance, and for placing the manuscript in the nurturing hands of Rosemary Brosnan. Rosemary, you and your formidable team have humbled me with the enthusiasm you have for putting Obayda's tale in the hands of the most important readersâchildren.
To those closest to me, thank you for the support, the confidence, the inspiration, the critique, and, sometimes, the material. Amin, Mom, Dad, Zoran, Zayla, Kyrus, and Cyraâyou are my reasons for writing.
Author photo by Chris Carter Photography
NADIA HASHIMI
was born and raised in New York and New Jersey. Both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. In 2002, Nadia made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents. She is a pediatrician and lives with her family in the Washington, DC, suburbs. Visit her online at
www.nadiahashimi.com
.
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One Half from the East
ONE HALF FROM THE EAST.
Copyright © 2016 by Nadia Hashimi. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938972
ISBN 978-0-06-242190-6 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062421920
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