I AM ALSO HUMAN: From the Corner of Regret to the Pursuit of Success

By Dunya Yousufzai

When the name of an Afghan woman is mentioned, nothing comes to mind of the world except the burqa, illiteracy, weakness, and helplessness. However, Afghan women have shown great courage and bravery throughout history and have fought side by side with men for the cause of truth. I am proud that my grandma (a women's rights activist) was also among these brave women and played her part in her homeland for the sake of freedom and equality. I would like to continue the path of my grandmother and stand against oppression and darkness with my pen, and I want to shout and say you are stronger than what you think, as long as you do not let your negative thoughts control you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885054560

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgments

Divine Gift

A Short and Informative History Story

Introduction

I Am Also Human

Part 1

Chapter 1: Strong Woman

From the Cradle to the Grave

Displaced Mother

Bitter Stories of Afghan Women Before and After the Fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Beginning of the Emirate

Chapter 2: Who Is a Woman?

Woman means

The Woman from the Psychological Point of View

The Female Brain

The Personality of a Woman

Chapter 3: Women’s Rights

What Are Rights?

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

Chapter 4: Violence against Women

Women’s Violence against Women

Violence against Women in Afghanistan

Chapter 5: Take a Look at Feminism

What is Feminism?

Women Empowerment

Part 2

Chapter 1: How to Fly?

What Is Life?

What Is the Purpose of Life?

What Is Happiness, and How Can We Achieve It?

What Are Love and Affection?

How Can We Love Everyone and Be Loved by All?

How Do You Control Your Emotions?

The Fear

The Anger

Anxiety and Depression

The Cry

The Laugh

How to Succeed?

The Time

Money and Wealth and Their Role in a Human’s Life

Factors that lead to human failure

Unspoken Words of Afghan Girls

Beautiful Articles by Afghan Girls

Beautiful and Meaningful Quotes

References

Endnote

Acknowledgments

I am thankful for the magnet of my heart and the pole star of my eyes, my mother. The tongue does not turn to say its love to me. Its position is beyond my perception. My world is full of the pleasant resonance of her voice. I want to say to this sacred myth of my life that you are the holiest being. I love you forever.

And express my gratitude and thanks to the best supporters of my life, my dear brothers and sisters: Orzalla Yousufzai, Abubaker Yousufzai, Heewad Yousufzai, Surya Yousufzai, and Makiz Yousufzai.

And also, to my kind uncle and his loving family: Dr. Mohammad Haidar Safa Nangarhari, Laila Safa, Bahara Safa, Sediqa Safa, Mohammad Sahel Safa, and Sajjad Safa.

And to the great masters of my school who led me from the earth to the land of light and science: Nalan Akildiz, Hawa Yan Gen, and Merita Bija Tohmjoo.

And also, to the songs of the caravan of civilization, that is, from the professors of my university: Azizullah Paeyndah, Dr. Sayed Hassan Adelyar, Ramazan Bahrami, Mohammad Rafi Bahez, Dr. Jawid Ahmad Baktash, and Tayebeh Abedi.

I want to thank my beloved friends Ellaha Nabizada, Zohra Baraki, Sanam Hamza, and Rukhsar Sadat for having my back.

In the end, I would like to thank every one of my friends, colleagues, professors, and classmates, and I want you to accept my sincere apologies because mentioning your beautiful names is beyond the scope of this book, but each of you has a special place in my heart and mind. The permanence of your dignity and health is my heart’s desire. Good luck.

Divine Gift

I haven’t seen a more beautiful creature than a woman

I haven’t seen a more expensive pearl than a woman

I wonder of her essence

That stands against the baseness

Her body is more eyeful than a flower

Her heart is gentler than a whole

Sometimes she becomes a sister, a friend, and a helper of a brother

Sometimes she becomes a daughter, a supporter of the father

Sometimes she becomes a wife and companion

Sometimes she becomes a mother and paradise

The resonance of her sound set back the canary

The rosy garment of her body embarrasses the prairie

Her humility bargains the world

Her warrior bravery illuminates the world

They shoot the arrow of poverty in her forehead

They play the song of slavery in her ear

I write your name with a golden pen

As if you don’t have a deputy in this land

—Dunya Yousufzai

A Short and Informative History Story

In ancient times, a beautiful woman lived in a land where oppression and tyranny were rampant everywhere. This beautiful lady was named Asiya bint Muzahim. She was the wife of the most oppressive king of the time, Pharaoh. Pharaoh had claimed to be a god. He also had contended that the people of Israel were created to serve the people of Egypt. He did not refrain from any kinds of oppression and tyranny against the people of Israel. According to the prevailing customs and traditions of that time, Hazrat Asiya married Pharaoh at the request of her family. When Moses was born, his mother put him in a small box and threw him into the Nile. At the request of the Lord of the World, the box appeared in front of the Pharaoh’s palace near the shore. One of the servants of Pharaoh’s palace who was watching the scene took Moses to Asiya. Since Hazrat Asiya was a kind and compassionate lady, after seeing Prophet Moses, she found such love and affection in her heart that she thought of Prophet Moses as her child and discussed the matter with Pharaoh and wanted to raise him. Pharaoh, who was very cruel and oppressive, and who killed the children of Israel with torture and torment, refused to accept Moses. But by the will of God, Moses was supported in Pharaoh’s house. One day, a woman who was responsible for brushing the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter lifted her shoulder and said in the name of Allah, Pharaoh’s daughter asked the woman, What was the purpose of your sentence? My father! Pharaoh? In response to Pharaoh’s daughter, the lady said, No, my aim is the God of your father, Almighty Allah. Pharaoh’s daughter (from another wife of Pharaoh) called her father and explained the incident to him. Pharaoh, who was very cruel, said to the woman, If you do not confess to my Godhead, I will throw your children in hot water in front of you and kill them. The lady never passed by her Lord, and Pharaoh commanded his soldiers to throw the woman’s children one after the other in front of her eyes in that scorching water. When it was the turn of the fifth child of that lady, Pharaoh still gave respite for that lady, but the son of that lady said to his mother, Mother, you are right, and you are on the right path. Never give up on this decision. Pharaoh also threw the fifth child into the scorching water. While the woman was getting tortured by Pharaoh, she told him, Put me in that boiling water, so I could feel the pain of my dear children and be with them in heaven. Pharaoh threw the lady in that water, and the story of the lady with her children ended. The story of that lady had caused Asiya to come to Pharaoh and confess that she believes in God, and although she knew what would happen to her, she still said that she believes in God. Pharaoh took Asiya to the desert and hanged her with chains; he deprived her of food and water and approved all kinds of oppression. Asiya was a woman who had grown up with many blessings. This kind of torture ended very badly for her. Even though tears were flowing from her eyes, she did not give up on Pharaoh’s oppression and laughed and looked at the sky because Almighty Allah showed her the palace he had prepared in paradise. When Pharaoh saw Asiya with a smile, he got angry and ordered his soldiers to put a large stone on Asiya’s chest, and he cruelly killed her like that.

The story of Hazrat Asiya shows how women throughout history have shown resistance and stability against oppression, tyranny, and violence and today have become good role models for other women.

Introduction

It is 2:00 a.m., Kabul, Afghanistan, time. My beautiful and bustling city has turned into a horrible town full of fear and silence, especially the recent terrorist attacks that caused the death of our painstaking youngsters. This endless war has caused the firm stature of the brave mothers of my country to bend. Every day, a sea of blood flows here, and this bloody sea is washed away by the waterfall of tears of heartbroken mothers. Every day, sisters with eyes of hope and fathers with broken backs pray for the end of this evil and unknown war. But will this beautiful country of mine dare to fly again? My elegant country has been saddened by lots of frustration and heartbreaks. Today, my country has become a dark land, The beauty and roar of the Amu Darya no longer caress our ears; the white gabardine of the glorious Hindu Kush mountains no longer appears. The crow of the roosters no longer wakes us up. The sound of birdsong is no longer pleasant. We no longer see innocent children playing with a world of dreams on the playgrounds. In the universe of misery, we have forgotten ourselves, we have forgotten the meaning of being human, and we even have lost living humanly. We are no longer able to distinguish wingless angels with emerald eyes, black chignon and, pearl hearts as a human (Afghan women); yes, this is where I want to say with emotion that day by day instead of becoming civilized, we migrate to the past eras and centuries. Wait! My aim from the past centuries is dark periods full of oppression and terror. I wish we could turn back time and live in the time of Ahmad Shah Baba and learn from him that how much courage and perseverance he showed on the way to his homeland; I wish we could go back to the year 1946 and see an independent land. It is a pity where the world is, but we Afghans cannot even leave our homes and go out for fear. But at all, we need to start from somewhere.

When we consider the position of women and their role in society, we see that their existence is considered necessary for the survival of the human race and a healthy society. Human perfection and dignity are not achieved according to their gender, but when we realize the exact purpose of our creation.

This book has described formalizing the secret to a meaningful life for everyone, particularly women. It has started by telling the stories of brave women and ends up with how to believe in ourselves and succeed. We will learn how to be strong in the face of hardships. We will learn how to stand sturdy and improve day in and day out. We will comprehend that who we are and how we were created. I will explain it all one by one so that in the future, no one can weaken you in vain, and you can defend yourself with complete confidence, and you will never hesitate in your intelligence. We will learn how to live our lives thoroughly, how to use the different tactics mentioned in this book to succeed so that other misunderstandings that cause our misery and resentment will be destroyed forever.

If you are a woman and you think that your life is spoiled, you are tired of the hustle and bustle of life, and you do not know what to do, then I would like to highly recommend you to read this book once and deal with the problems of an Afghan woman in Afghanistan. How does she live in a world of panic and terror? How she overcomes these twists and turns and copes with the problems and stones that life throws at her.

If you are a mother and you think that the weighty and the sacred responsibility of motherhood has pressed you and made life dark for your eyes, then I tell you to read this book once and contemplate a little about how the mothers of my country, who are covered with blood in heart, with poverty and misery, with nights of hunger and bare feet, still offer gentlemen to the society, and how cruelly these innocent gentlemen will be dragged to dust and blood. These widowed mothers who already tasted the bitterness of the time and once lost their brave husbands in the way of this endless war still continue to fight without raising an eyebrow. The champion mothers of my homeland are still steadfast in playing the role of parents alone without any helpers.

If you are an Afghan girl and because you have grown up with contradictory words from childhood until now, and you do not know about yourself and your rights, you have lost your way in the world of ignorance. First, I would like to say congratulations; you are a champion, you have this book in your hands right now, and so be sure that you will learn many things. Before reading this book, will! And raise your will because there is no way back.

If you are a man who thinks that women are weak and you underestimate and humiliate them, at first, I am sorely sad that in our society; people still live with such mentalities and consume oxygen, but if you wanted to read this book with an open forehead but a broken heart, I welcome you and give you enough information about the potential of women. Before writing this book, I thought that evil people try every way to mislead others. They do, but your excellency, do not bother, because I have examined to recite the command of God and covered everything about women based on science and knowledge. I had heard that words with deep meanings restore the ignorance of the ignorant man, who spent his whole life