An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir

"A moving account of the harrowing experience of one woman who almost met her death in a culture that could not be more alien to her American upbringing." —Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Infidel and Nomad National Jewish Book Award Winner "A poignant and fascinating account that has many lessons for women—and men—of all cultures." —The Huffington Post Few westerners will ever be able to understand Muslim or Afghan society unless they are part of a Muslim family. Twenty years old and in love, Phyllis Chesler, a Jewish-American girl from Brooklyn, embarked on an adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century. In 1961, when she arrived in Kabul with her Afghan bridegroom, authorities took away her American passport. Chesler was now the property of her husband's family and had no rights of citizenship. Back in Afghanistan, her husband, a wealthy, westernized foreign college student with dreams of reforming his country, reverted to traditional and tribal customs. Chesler found herself unexpectedly trapped in a posh polygamous family, with no chance of escape. She fought against her seclusion and lack of freedom, her Afghan family's attempts to convert her from Judaism to Islam, and her husband's wish to permanently tie her to the country through childbirth. Drawing upon her personal diaries, Chesler recounts her ordeal, the nature of gender apartheid—and her longing to explore this beautiful, ancient, and exotic country and culture. Chesler nearly died there but she managed to get out, returned to her studies in America, and became an author and an ardent activist for women's rights throughout the world. An American Bride in Kabul is the story of how a naïve American girl learned to see the world through eastern as well as western eyes and came to appreciate Enlightenment values. This dramatic tale re-creates a time gone by, a place that is no more, and shares the way in which Chesler turned adversity into a passion for world-wide social, educational, and political reform. "A bold book; intimate and rich in detail; as revealing a story about class, gender, and religious differences as one will find." —Kate Millett, author of Sexual Politics and Going to Iran "A vivid account of landing in Afghanistan in 1961 as a young bride—and finding herself a victim and virtual prisoner of that country's cruel antiwomen customs and habit. . . . This is an eye-opening book." —Lucette Lagnado, author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit and The Arrogant Years

© 2013 St. Martin's Press (E-bog): 9781137365576

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 1. oktober 2013