Afghan women raise their voices in two new anthologies

This week marks a year since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, a bitter anniversary for many Afghans and foreigners, like me, who lived and worked there. We watch in anguish as its leaders reestablish their punitive, hyper-conservative emirate that forces Afghan women and girls out of sight.

But the Taliban hasn't succeeded in silencing the female half of Afghan society, whose voices at home and abroad ring out in two new and powerful anthologies: and. Both projects were launched with great difficulty before Kabul fell, as generations of misogyny and war have stifled female expression. The return of the Taliban only increased the obstacles and the danger