Summary: The Underground Girls Of Kabul

Although America hasn’t achieved complete gender equality, women tend to take what freedoms they have for granted. When women’s rights in western society are compared to those of women in Afghanistan, the clear contrast can be quite confusing and disturbing. In “The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan” by Jenny Nordberg, readers are able to see this contrast of women’s rights through the controversial practice of bacha posh, which demonstrate the fact that working towards gender equality is a vital factor in the making of a peaceful civilization, similar to that of America. As the book describes, the Taliban controlled majority of Afghanistan, but held “a particular hatred for half the population.”

As mentioned previously, the father of an all daughter family can be deemed weak for not being able to have a son. In Afghan society, people prioritize their social standings amongst the community. By having one daughter pose to be the son of the family, they’ll be able to financially support themselves and not be pitied by other members of the community. The bacha posh would be able work with their fathers, run errands, receive an education, and help to protect their family, which is an act that can bring honor to a man, especially when they’re protecting women. In addition to bringing honor to one’s family the bacha posh are able to have more freedoms, such as being able to leave the house alone or receive an education. In chapter seven, when Mehran goes to school as a boy, she is accepted as a boy by the other children, which resulted in her personality growing louder. Mehran would also refuse to participate in womanly activities, like sewing, opting to play outdoor activities, such as football, and openly introduced herself as a boy to her peers (Nordberg, 74-76). It is also revealed that Azita was a bacha posh when she was younger. She explains that the years she spent masquerading as a boy had helped her all her life by making her energetic and strong (Nordberg, 127). By becoming the family’s “son”, girls are able to

Essentially, women are proving that men are the dominate sex and by becoming one, they are able to escape the hardships of being a woman in Afghanistan. Women tend to view the patriarchy quite passively through means of an underground resistance of sorts. Because they don’t take more radical approaches, this resistance is a hidden part of the society’s history. When Nordberg describes the life of a teenage tomboy named Zahra saying that many girls like Zahra may not want to be a boy because that is the sex they don’t identify themselves with, but rather escape the fate that is in store for women in Afghan society. Without radical approaches to solve the problem at hand, people may not even be aware that their society is problematic. Another disadvantage of creating sons from daughters is that girls who are their family’s bacha posh face being ridiculed by other children because pretending to be a boy can compromise their purity. The acceptable time for a bacha posh to transition back to being a girl is right before hitting puberty. It is quite uncommon for girls to continue their lives as boys for longer periods of time because this decision is usually made by their parents. In Afghan society, women only begin to be useful when they are able to conceive a child, which is the