Defiant Dreams: The Journey of an Afghan Girl Who Risked Everything for Education
Author: Mahfouz, Sola
ISBN: 9780857528810
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year First Published: 2023
Pages: 320
Dimensions: 233mm x 153mm x 24mm
Format: Paperback / softback
Description:
An extraordinary memoir of a young woman from Afghanistan and her struggle to rise above the circumstances into which she was born. A memoir of education, oppression, misogyny, inequality, determination and incredible resilience.
'I began to grow up the day my mother warned me to stop laughing'
At age eleven, Sola Mahfouz was told she could no longer attend school. The Taliban threatened that any girl who dared to continue their education would have acid thrown in their face, be kidnapped, or worse. Confined to the walls of her home, Sola watched as the few freedoms of childhood were stripped away. She was forbidden to play, to sing, even to laugh. Her early teenage years were consumed by restrictions.
Realising that she would have to either succumb to this life or find a way out, she decided on the latter. At age sixteen, without even a basic ability to add or subtract, she began secretly learning maths and English. By reading dictionaries and taking free online courses, she taught herself theoretical physics and philosophy, all from a home she could only leave five times a year. In the space of nine years she achieved the level of education that a westerner might take 25 years to do and against all odds moved to America to study quantum computing.
It is a radical act to tell the story of an Afghan woman. Too often, they are portrayed only as victims, their identities erased by thick veils and blanket reporting. Defiant Dreams will change the narrative. It's the story of an Afghan girl who dared to ask for more.
ISBN: 9780857528810
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year First Published: 2023
Pages: 320
Dimensions: 233mm x 153mm x 24mm
Format: Paperback / softback
Description:
An extraordinary memoir of a young woman from Afghanistan and her struggle to rise above the circumstances into which she was born. A memoir of education, oppression, misogyny, inequality, determination and incredible resilience.
'I began to grow up the day my mother warned me to stop laughing'
At age eleven, Sola Mahfouz was told she could no longer attend school. The Taliban threatened that any girl who dared to continue their education would have acid thrown in their face, be kidnapped, or worse. Confined to the walls of her home, Sola watched as the few freedoms of childhood were stripped away. She was forbidden to play, to sing, even to laugh. Her early teenage years were consumed by restrictions.
Realising that she would have to either succumb to this life or find a way out, she decided on the latter. At age sixteen, without even a basic ability to add or subtract, she began secretly learning maths and English. By reading dictionaries and taking free online courses, she taught herself theoretical physics and philosophy, all from a home she could only leave five times a year. In the space of nine years she achieved the level of education that a westerner might take 25 years to do and against all odds moved to America to study quantum computing.
It is a radical act to tell the story of an Afghan woman. Too often, they are portrayed only as victims, their identities erased by thick veils and blanket reporting. Defiant Dreams will change the narrative. It's the story of an Afghan girl who dared to ask for more.
