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A review by careinthelibrary
Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son by Homeira Qaderi
4.0
4.5 stars
Dancing in the Mosque is the memoir of a rebel. Homeira Qaderi rebelled against the Taliban's expectations for women, teaching young children secular education behind the backs of her oppressors. Dancing despite the danger. She rebels against the patriarchal expectations of her husband who despises her independence and willpower. She rebels against acceptance that her son is lost to her.
This is written in two interwoven ways. Part of this memoir is traditional, Qaderi writing about her childhood and young adulthood under Russian occupation then Taliban rule. She navigates life while hiding in basements from bombs and tanks and then avoiding violence under the Taliban's gender-based prejudice. The second element of this memoir is a letter to her son. She was forced to lose custody of her only child when she was divorced by her husband. Believing that her husband's family tell her child that she is forever gone, she writes to him letters about her life and experiences. These letters are this memoir. How much she clearly misses her son.
“Do not believe them! I haven’t died. I am living a life of exile, in a place that has its own beauty, its own laws, and its own problems. But to my eternal pain, it does not have the most important element of my being, of my soul. It does not have you.”
So, she is not just writing this memoir to share with the public, but in the hopes that her son will one day read her words and know her side of the story.
My heart was tangled around Homeira's in so many instances during this memoir. She is a fighter and her personality and fire come through in her prose. Her hopes for her country and for her family. Reading this was an incredibly emotional experience.
“But, Siawash, I want you to be a rebel, to grow up to fight the antiquated, brutal ways of that land. My son, nothing can diminish this sense of motherhood in me. Let your uncle Jaber refer to you as “his son,” but you and I both know the truth.”
content warnings for: violence, war, child sexual abuse, pedophilia, self-immolation/suicide, forced marriage, polygamy, divorce, forced parent/child separation, grief.
Dancing in the Mosque is the memoir of a rebel. Homeira Qaderi rebelled against the Taliban's expectations for women, teaching young children secular education behind the backs of her oppressors. Dancing despite the danger. She rebels against the patriarchal expectations of her husband who despises her independence and willpower. She rebels against acceptance that her son is lost to her.
This is written in two interwoven ways. Part of this memoir is traditional, Qaderi writing about her childhood and young adulthood under Russian occupation then Taliban rule. She navigates life while hiding in basements from bombs and tanks and then avoiding violence under the Taliban's gender-based prejudice. The second element of this memoir is a letter to her son. She was forced to lose custody of her only child when she was divorced by her husband. Believing that her husband's family tell her child that she is forever gone, she writes to him letters about her life and experiences. These letters are this memoir. How much she clearly misses her son.
“Do not believe them! I haven’t died. I am living a life of exile, in a place that has its own beauty, its own laws, and its own problems. But to my eternal pain, it does not have the most important element of my being, of my soul. It does not have you.”
So, she is not just writing this memoir to share with the public, but in the hopes that her son will one day read her words and know her side of the story.
My heart was tangled around Homeira's in so many instances during this memoir. She is a fighter and her personality and fire come through in her prose. Her hopes for her country and for her family. Reading this was an incredibly emotional experience.
“But, Siawash, I want you to be a rebel, to grow up to fight the antiquated, brutal ways of that land. My son, nothing can diminish this sense of motherhood in me. Let your uncle Jaber refer to you as “his son,” but you and I both know the truth.”
content warnings for: violence, war, child sexual abuse, pedophilia, self-immolation/suicide, forced marriage, polygamy, divorce, forced parent/child separation, grief.