A review by chaptersnchatter
Zarifa: A Woman's Battle in a Man's World by Hannah Lucinda Smith, Zarifa Ghafari

inspiring medium-paced

4.5

 

finished this book and I’m at a loss for words. this is definitely not the first memoir that left me feeling inspired and guilty (guilt of not doing enough good for others with my life) but she is so close to my age that I couldn’t help but keep drawing parallels between her life and mine. moreover,

she obtained her undergraduate degree from a university in India so the whole thing hits so close to home

. this book made me realise the subtle difference between being empathetic and something hitting a nerve and resonating with my heart 

 

Zarifa was born in Afghanistan and has spent the majority of her life there. she has first hand witnessed the effects of change of regimes and political instability in the country 

 

she was 2 when girls were banned from getting formal education so she studied (illegally) with a group of girls in a makeshift classroom in somebody’s basement, the youngest one there. from early on, she has a ferocious desire to learn, educate herself and contribute to the development of her country. at one point, her father forbade her from attending school since it had started becoming too dangerous to go out in the streets and then sit in the classroom (after it had become legal for girls again post a regime change). She slipped out after he went to work and was unfortunately caught in a bomb blast. however, this did not put her off from smartly tricking her parents again and sadly again having a stroke of bad luck.

although the entire book is filled with inspiring and heartbreaking incidents of her courage at every stage in her life, it broke my heart to see someone suffer so much for the simple desire of attending school. this is going to stay with me for a very long time 

 

she set up a radio station specifically aimed to benefit the local female communities. at 24, she becomes the youngest female mayor in Afghanistan - not without a whole lot of obstacles.

there are multiple layers of complications in both these achievements and I’ll leave out the details but her resilience and perseverance again left me dumbfounded. this wasn’t simply about taking a stand. throughout these journeys, she was wagering her life. she has survived 6 attempts of assassination so far and lives with permanent scars - both physical and emotional 

 

with raw emotions, a lot of loss, patriotism, and dedication to female empowerment, this was by no means an easy read but it was engrossing.  my only complaint is that the editing could have been much better but the story was compelling enough to keep me hooked to the book