Contested terrain : reflections with Afghan women leaders / Sally L. Kitch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kitch, Sally, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Feminism--Afghanistan.

Feminism.

Feminists--Afghanistan.

Feminists.

Women--Political activity--Afghanistan.

Women.

Leadership in women--Afghanistan.

Leadership in women.

Women--Afghanistan--Social conditions.

Women--Political activity.

Afghanistan.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

264 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2014]

Summary:

In November 2005, nine Afghan women leaders gathered at the Mershon Center at Ohio State University to present their views of what was happening to their country and, more importantly, what needed to be done to save it. In Contested Terrain, Sally L. Kitch constructs a compelling narrative that illuminates the lives and opinions of two of those women: Judge Marzia Basel, founder of the Afghan Women Judges Association, and Jamila Afghani, founder and director of the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Center. Contending with the complex dynamics of a society both undergoing and resisting change, Basel and Afghani speak candidly-and critically-of international intervention, the oppression of women, patriarchal Afghan culture, and the climate among Afghan women that limits change. As relayed by Kitch, the personal histories and commentaries of these courageous women draw the reader into a complex world in which immense possibility alternates and vies with utter hopelessness. The narrative provides an oft-ignored perspective on the personal and professional lives of Afghanistan's women. Strongly rooted in feminist, theory and supported by interdisciplinary historical and geopolitical analysis, Contested Terrain sheds new light on the struggle against the powerful forces that affect Afghan women's education, health, political participation, livelihoods, and quality of life. The book also suggests how a new dialogue might be started in which women from across geopolitical boundaries might find common cause for change and rewrite their collective stories. Book jacket.

Contents:

Working for women in "postconflict" Afghanistan

Two strong voices: the making of women leaders in Afghanistan

Constructing women's rights in Afghanistan

The basics of change

The political is personal

Afghan marriage practices

Marriage hits home

Addressing Afghanistan's problems

Fast-forward

Future prospects

Afterword: the clock is ticking, 2014.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780252038709

0252038703

9780252080272

0252080270

OCLC:

876370955