The Dressmaker of Khair Khana (20 page)

The Financial Times' International Entrepreneurship editor James Pickford was the first person to buy these stories, first from Rwanda and later from Afghanistan, and for this start I am most thankful. My appreciation also to Anne Bagamery at the International Herald Tribune and Amelia Newcomb at the Christian Science Monitor. Both of these terrific editors helped me bring to their readers stories from Afghanistan that were even stronger and more compelling for their input. And to Tina Brown, Jane Spencer, and Dana Goldstein of the Daily Beast, my sincere thanks for giving voice to powerful stories that might otherwise never have been told.

Thanks also to Professor Geoffrey Jones and Regina Abrami at Harvard Business School. They, along with Janet Hanson of 85 Broads and Alex Shkolnikov of CIPE, believed in the potential and the power of these stories when few others did. For their faith I am most grateful.

And to Mohamed El-Erian and my generous PIMCO bosses and colleagues, thank you for providing the support and the time to complete this work.

A slew of extraordinary women supported this research on women's entrepreneurship with their constant encouragement and their own examples of hard-driving excellence. This includes the World Bank's Amanda Ellis, a sometime collaborator and constant inspiration, and 10,000 Women's Dina Powell, an indefatigable advocate in promoting the potential of women as well as a role model for anyone who wants to see just how much is possible when ideas are transformed into action. Thanks also to Alyse Nelson at Vital Voices, whose leadership, commitment, and support are sincerely appreciated. And to Isobel Coleman at the Council on Foreign Relations, whose writing and research have helped to lead the way.

Since I started writing about this topic five years ago, many readers have asked how they can help. To answer this question, I have created a list of just a few of the many organizations that support women in Afghanistan in the pages which follow. You can find out more about them and link to their websites at www.gaylelemmon.com.

Elyse Cheney and Nicole Steen saw the potential in this project at the outset and offered their invaluable support and guidance throughout the journey that led to this book. I don't imagine any writer could ask for a better advocate than Elyse, and I am thankful for her energy and editorial hand. Lisa Sharkey at HarperCollins believed in the idea and introduced me to my editor, thought partner, and friend Julia Cheiffetz at Harper. She and Katie Salisbury have shepherded this book through all the twists and turns of the process, and I am deeply grateful for their relentlessness and their dedication. Thanks also to Harper's Jonathan Burnham for his commitment to the project. And to Yuli Masinovsky, my thanks for helping all of this get started so long ago. Heartfelt thanks also to Annik LaFarge, a keen judge of character, a generous friend, and a valued voice I could not admire more.

A final thanks to my husband. Without his steady support and unswerving faith in this project, nothing would be the same and far less would be possible.

Adamec, L. W., and F. A. Clements (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Afghanistan Department for Preservation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (1997). Reply to TDH letter dated July 27, 1997.

Afghanistan Women's Council (1999). December 1999 Report. Peshawar: Afghanistan Women's Council.

Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (1996). Edicts Issued by the Taliban Government in Afghanistan. Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (1996). Kabul After the Taliban Takeover. Peshawar: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (1996). Memo on Shariate (Islamic law) Based Regulations for Hospitals and Private Clinics. Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (1997). Changing the Name of Government to Emirate: Decree of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kandahar and Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (1998). Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (2000). Impact of Edict on Afghan Women Employment on Health Sector. Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

------ (2001). Memo on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Decree in Relation to the Stay of Foreign Nationals on the Territory of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Peshawar: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

Amnesty International (1999). Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in Men's Power Struggles.

Bernard, M., et al. (1996). Socio-economic Household Survey Kabul: December 1996. Kabul: Action contre la Faim.

Crews, R. D., and A. Tarzi, eds. (2008). The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Donini, A., N. Niland, and K. Wermester, eds. (2004). Nation-Building Unraveled? Aid, Peace and Justice in Afghanistan. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian.

Dorronsoro, G. (2005). Revolution Unending: Afghanistan: 1979 to Present. New York: Columbia University Press.

------ (2007). “Kabul at War (1992-1996): State, Ethnicity and Social Classes.” South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal.

Dupree, L. (1959). “The Burqa Comes Off.” American University's Field Staff Reports Service 3(2).

------ (1980). Afghanistan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Dupree, N. H. (1989). “Seclusion or Service: Will Women Have a Role in the Future of Afghanistan?” Occasional Paper # 29. New York: Afghanistan Forum.

------ (2008). Afghanistan Over a Cup of Tea--46 Chronicles. Stockholm: Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.

Dupree, N. H., et al. (1999). Afghanistan Aid and the Taliban: Challenges on the Eve of the 21st Century. Stockholm: Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.

Everson, R. (1997). Memo Regarding Mukrat Letter Reference Number 69 Dated July 16, 1997. Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

Fielden, M. (2001). Inter-agency Task Force Study on Taliban Decree and Its Implications. Pakistan: Inter-Agency Task Force.

Gutman, R. (2008). How We Missed the Story. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

Haqbeen, F.-R. (2000). From Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief: Memo on Decree on Female Employment from Supreme Leader via MOP. A. Members.

Heisler, M., et al. (1999). “Health and Human Rights of Adolescent Girls in Afghanistan.” Journal of the American Medical Women's Association 280: 462-64.

Hossain, M. K. (1999). Interim Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. Prepared by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

------ (2000). Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

------ (2001). Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. Submitted by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur, in Accordance with Commission Resolution 2000/18, United Nations. New York: United Nations General Assembly.

Howarth, A. (1993). Hints for Working with Afghan Women in Purdah. Kabul: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Human Rights Watch (2001). Afghanistan: Humanity Denied--Systematic Violation of Women's Rights in Afghanistan.

Johnson, C., and J. Leslie (2008). Afghanistan: The Mirage of Peace. New York: Zed.

Johnston, T. (1996). “Afghans Dig for Survival Through Kabul's Rubbish.” News-India Times. December 27, 1996.

------ (1997). “Afghans Ban Women's Shoes.” Daily Telegraph (Sydney). July 22, 1997.

------ (1997). “Food Shortage Discussed in Kabul.” News-India Times. May 16, 1997.

------ (1997). “Women Losers in Iron Rule of Taleban.” Hobart Mercury. April 4, 1997.

King, A. E. V. (1997). Report of the United Nations Interagency Gender Mission to Afghanistan. New York: United Nations.

Knabe, E. (1977). “Women in the Social Stratification of Afghanistan.” In C.A.O. Van Nieuwenhuijze (ed.), Commoners, Climbers, and Notables: A Sampler of Studies on Social Ranking in the Middle East, pp. 329-59. Leiden: Brill.

Lancelot, A. (2008). Burqas, foulards et minijupes: Paroles d'Afghanes. Paris: Calmann-Levy.

Latifa (2001). My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young Woman's Story. New York: Hyperion.

Lowthian Bell, G. (1897). Poems from the Divan of Hafiz. London: William Heinemann. Reprinted by BiblioLife, LLC.

Mail listing newsletter for F. A. Gulalai Habib (1997). Kabul.

Maley, W. (1996). “Women and Public Policy in Afghanistan: A Comment.” World Development 24(1): 203-6.

------ ed. (1998). Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban. New York: New York University Press.

Mamnoon, F. (2000). Memo on Resolution of the Minister's Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. A. Members. Peshawar and Kabul: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

Marsden, P. (1998). The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan. New York: Oxford University Press.

Matinuddin, K. (1999). The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994-1997. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Matney, S. (2002). Businesswomen in Kabul: A Study of the Economic Conditions for Female Entrepreneurs. Kabul: Mercy Corps.

McCarthy, R. (2000). “Taliban Try to Scuttle 'Titanic' Craze.” Guardian (London). December 10, 2000.

Medair (1997). Study of Health Provision and Needs in Kabul, Afghanistan. Kabul: Medair Afghanistan.

Mehta, S., ed. (2002). Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Michel, A. A. (1959). The Kabul, Kunduz and Helmand Valleys and the National Economy of Afghanistan. Fifth in a Series of Reports. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.

Mittra, Sangh, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Women in South Asia: Afghanistan. Delhi: Kalpaz.

Newberg, P. R. (1999). Politics at the Heart: The Architecture of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan. Paper No. 2. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Niland, N. (2006). “Taliban-Run Afghanistan: The Politics of Closed Borders and Protection.” In A. Bayefsky, ed., Human Rights and Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrant Workers, pp. 179-209. Koninklijke: Brill.

Nojumi, N. (2002). The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War and the Future of the Region. New York: Palgrave.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1999). The Limits and Scope for the Use of Development Assistance Incentives and Disincentives for Influencing Conflict Situations--Case Study: Afghanistan. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Paik, C. H. (1997). Final Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. New York: United Nations.

Pont, A. M. (2001). Blind Chickens and Social Animals: Creating Spaces for Afghan Women's Narratives Under the Taliban. Portland, OR: Mercy Corps.

Qazizada, M. A. T. (2000). Further Memo on Female Employment. A. Members. Kabul, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Ministry of Planning.

Rashid, A. (2001). Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

------ (2008). Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. London: Viking.

Reynolds, S. (1999). Rebuilding Communities in the Urban Areas of Afghanistan: Symposium and Round Table on Operational Activities. K. Riazi, United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS Habitat).

------ (2000). Quarterly Report: Rebuilding Communities in Urban Afghanistan, July-September 2000. United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS Habitat).

Rodey, B. J. (2000). A Socio-economic Evaluation of the Community Forum Programme, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS Habitat).

Rubin, B. R. (1997). “Women and Pipelines: Afghanistan's Proxy Wars.” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944- ) 73(2): 283-96.

------ (2002). The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Samar, S., et al. (2002). Afghanistan's Reform Agenda: Four Perspectives. New York: Asia Society.

Seekins, D. M., and R. F. Nyrop (1986). Afghanistan: A Country Study. Washington, DC: The Studies.

Shahrani, M. N., and R. L. Canfield, eds. (1984). Revolutions & Rebellions in Afghanistan. Berkeley: University of California Institute of International Studies.

Shorish-Shamley, Ziebar (1998). Report from Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan. Washington, DC.

Skaine, R. (2002). The Women of Afghanistan Under the Taliban. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Tavana, N., P. Cronin, and J. Alterman (1998). The Taliban and Afghanistan: Implications for Regional Security and Options for International Action. Special Report No. 39. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1995). Final Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. Submitted by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Felix Ermacora, in Accordance with Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1994/84. New York: United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

------ (1996). Final Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan. Submitted by Mr. Choong-Hyun Paik, Special Rapporteur, in Accordance with Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1995/74. New York: United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

------ (1996). Afghanistan: The Forgotten Crisis. New York: United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

------ (1998). Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan: Report of the Secretary-General. New York: United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

------ (2001). Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Women and Girls in the Territories Occupied by Afghan Armed Groups. Submitted in Accordance with Sub-commission Resolution 2000/11. New York: United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Zhwak, M. Saeed (1995). Women in Afghanistan History. Peshawar: Katib Publishing Services.

Zoya, with J. Follain and R. Cristofari (2002). Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom. New York: William Morrow.