Fair Trade
Rumi Spice: The mission of Rumi Spice is to use spice as a force for good. It direct sources the highest quality spices from rural farmers and women in Afghanistan to help provide reliable wages and economic stability. Rumi Spice is on a mission to create connections to the vibrant culture of the Middle East, its delicious food, and its people. It believes that when Americans are shown the story of the Afghan people, they can come to know the vibrancy of the region and people, not just war and strife.
Investing in women is the basis for prosperity and peace in our world, and the Women’s Peace Collection is doing its part. Each item in this online, fair-trade store speaks to this hopeful vision: women’s hands are a force for peace. The site sells jewelry, scarves, baskets, bags and more made by women from around the world who are rebuilding their lives in the shadows of war, civil strife or crippling poverty. All the products are handcrafted, sustainable and will help empower women entrepreneurs. Visit Women’s Peace Collection here.
Books
Fiction
By Amy Waldman
Amy Waldman reported from Afghanistan for The New York Times after 9/11. Her novel presents the journey of an Afghan-American college student who is inspired to travel to a rural Afghan village to volunteer with a maternal health clinic. But her idealism clashes with the reality of life in rural Afghanistan, and she becomes caught up in the insecurity of women’s day-to-day lives.
The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell
Nadia Hashimi
This novel is set in Kabul in 2007 and revolves around the impacts of gender inequality in Afghanistan. It intertwines the stories of Rahima, a 13-year old child bride, and her great great great grandmother, Shekiba, a hundred years before her. Because their mothers did not have sons, both girls were offered the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters. But soon, Rahima must take up her life as a bride and her decisions are mirrored by the ones made by Shekiba a hundred years earlier.
See our 2022 Together Women Rise Book Club event to hear Nadia Hashimi talk about her book.
Non-Fiction
We Are Still Here: Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard
By Nahid Shahalimi (Editor), Margaret Atwood (Foreword)
In We Are Still Here, artist and activist Nahid Shahalimi compiles the voices of 13 powerful, insightful, and influential Afghan women who have worked as politicians, journalists, scientists, filmmakers, artists, coders, musicians, and more. As they reflect on their country’s past, stories of their own upbringing and the ways they have been able to empower girls and women over the past two decades emerge.
The Favored Daughter: One Woman’s Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future
By Fawzia Koofi
Born in a rural village, Fawzia Koofi is a former Vice President of the Afghan National Assembly and the first woman elected as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, where she chaired the Women Affairs, Civil Society, and Human Rights Commission. In recognition of her advocacy, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. But when the United States left Afghanistan, that all changed. From 2021 onward she has lived in exile in London, continuing her global fight for women’s rights and education in Afghanistan.
Films
From One Day’s Wages’ partner Action for Development:
Midwifery – Short video slideshow about midwifery training in Afghanistan (2021)
Afghanistan – Additional video slideshow about actions in Afghanistan (2021)
Music
Afghani folksong “Valley” – Written and performed by Quraishi and accompanied by Samir Chatterjee on tabla. Filmed in the gallery for the art of Mughal South Asia and Later South Asia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May13, 2013.
SAFAR: Traditional Afghan Music – Afghanistan was well known for its cultural diversity, and equally renowned for its music. Under the Taliban regime, music was forbidden but many master musicians survived and, along with them, their knowledge. With the Safar project, (‘safar’ means ‘journey’) the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar and the Afghanistan Music Research Centre support Afghan musicians in their efforts to maintain and pass on their invaluable musical traditions and knowledge. Recorded Nov. 30, 2015.