Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother’s Letter to her Son
Written by Homeira Qaderi
Narrated by Ariana Delawari
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
An exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions. With the city and the military on edge, it was not uncommon for an armed soldier to point his gun at the pregnant woman’s bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Frightened and in pain, she was once forced to make her way on foot. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful son’s birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life.
No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for women’s rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society.
Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mother’s searing letter to a son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her story—and that of Afghan women—Homeira challenges you to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Her story asks you to consider the lengths you would go to protect yourself, your family, and your dignity.
Homeira Qaderi
Dr. Homeira Qaderi is a women’s rights activist originally from Afghanistan. She has published six books in Afghanistan and Iran, some of which have received prestigious awards. Dancing in the Mosque is her first book in English.
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Reviews for Dancing in the Mosque
23 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stories of her childhood and teen years in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation, the civil war, and under the rule of the Taliban with a letter to her son who she had to leave behind after her husband divorced her.I appreciated her sharing her stories of life growing up in Afghanistan and the reactions of her mother and grandmother as well as her male relatives. I had a hard time dealing with the misogyny shown by the men in her life. I abhorred the men held up as leaders--Maulawi Rashad and Commander Mooso. I was glad when Homeira spoke to her father about what she had seen in the mosque. I also found it hard to read about her treatment at the hands of men who thought she was a "bad girl" because she was out without a male relative. I felt a lot of anger at the antiquated thinking while reading her story.I loved her determination to better her life and other girls' lives and, along the way, the boys' lives also. I felt anger at her husband. He had led her to believe they were working together and had the same objectives. I hope that one day she can give her son the letters she wrote. I hope that he can help in her work of changing Afghan culture to be kinder and gentler towards woman.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The plight of women in Afghanistan was first brought to my attention by the book Three Cups of Tea. This book is a more personal account. Homeira Quaderi grew up in Herat. First it was the Russian and then it was the Taliban. While Afghanistan has always giving women little freedom, the Taliban took it away from anyone who disagreed with them. Having to give up school, live behind closed doors and only allowed to go outside the home if accompanied by a male relative, Homeira chafed at the inequity. I found decision as a young girl to teach her neighbors and then expand education into the refuge camps one of the bravest things I’ve read about. She was forced to marry a man from the neighborhood at age 17, to save her from being taken by Taliban who wanted to marry her. Moving to Iran was an eye-opener for her. There was so much more freedom and she was able to get her Ph.D because Irani women were encouraged to independent and educated. On their return to Kabul where her husband was employed by the government, she found the only thing worth living for was her newly born son. As she writes her history, she includes letters she has written to her son. After being divorced from her husband, she relinquished all contact with her son and moved to California. The story told in first person is powerful.