This book is one of the most intriguing I have ever read. Having spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I am always interested in learning more of the cultures there, and The Underground Girls delves into a phenomenon I never knew existed. Sons are prized in Afghanistan, and much of a man’s self-worth is derived from having sons. Girls are significantly less valued. For men with only daughters, a local religious leader (or the family themselves) can declare a daughter to be a “son.” These girls, called bacha posh, are raised as boys until puberty, giving the family a bump in prestige. For the girls, it is a chance to experience life without the restrictions of female life (being confined to the home, unable to move outside the house without the presence of a male family member, subservience, etc.) There seems to be little damage to these girls’ psyches—unless they are not converted back to females before puberty. Then, they seem to fully feel themselves to be male.
Nordberg interviews families who have a bacha posh and women who have been bacha posh. Then Nordberg looks into the human past and brings up multiple examples of women who have taken on the roles of men (like Joan of Arc). She brings a peculiarly Afghani experience into a world view of gender roles.
This book seems well-researched, albeit through a non-Afghani lens, and I found it fascinating.
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The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan (Crown, September 16, 2014) is available through:
Your local independent bookseller | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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