Bride, Drug Lords, And One Woman's Journey Through Afghanistan By Fariba Nawa

Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords, and One Woman’s Journey Through Afghanistan by Fariba Nawa is a book based on the author’s travels throughout Afghanistan. During her travels, she speaks with many individuals that are part of the opium production in Afghanistan. Specifically, Fariba Nawa focuses in on the women’s role of opium production. In her book, she shares stories of poppy farmers, corrupt officials, expats and drug lords. Most haunting of her encounters, is an encounter with a young girl who was bartered in order to pay her father’s opium debts. While visiting Afghanistan, Fariba Nawa takes in and later writes about many negatives effects that the opium culture has had on lower-level individuals, and how the country, along with many other countries, may be taking the wrong steps in order to prevent and fight drug distribution. In her book, Fariba Nawa writes about an encounter that she had with a young, 12 year old girl. This young girl, Darya, was given away by her father to become an opium bride, in order to pay off his opium debts. Even though the Darya did not want to marry the drug smuggler, she had no choice, and was sent away. After being sent away with the smuggler, she had little to no contact with her family, which in turn sparks Nawa to search for Darya. Unfortunately, Fariba Nawa is unable to

Zainab recites incidences in which she has caught smugglers with drugs. Specifically, she recalls a moment in which she was attempting to search a woman, but the woman resisted and slapped her. Rather than arresting her, Zainab let the woman go. Her reasoning, as she explained to Nawa, is that “it wasn’t worth it” (209). Nawa then explains that Zainab uses empathy with criminals, because she too could have been in their shoes, but chose a different route, a route that many woman do not have an option to