TWO BOOKS AND A PLAY ABOUT AFGHANISTAN:NOT TO BE MISSED

I'm the Cultural Consultant on this fabulous new play, set in Afghanistan. The World Premier of THE MOST DANGEROUS HIGHWAY IN THE WORLD is with Golden Thread production in San Francisco. Here’s a little about the play.

The Most Dangerous Highway in the World
a world premiere play by Kevin Artigue
directed by Evren Odcikin

A fearless eight-year old businessman makes his living directing traffic with a soda bottle on the highway connecting Jalalabad to Kabul. Soldiers, accidents, and ghosts are no match for this little fighter with a knack for surviving the toughest challenges. Inspired by a New York Times article about the real-life “Pepsi bottle boys” of Afghanistan, this poetic play introduces an up-and-coming writer of great promise.

Kevin Artigue is a graduate of Public Theater’s prestigious Emerging Writers Group and the first playwright of non-Middle Eastern descent to be produced on the Golden Thread mainstage. He has been developing this play with Golden Thread for three years, including as part of the 2014 National New Play Network’s showcase.

MAY 6-29, 2016 at Thick House in San Francisco
Thursdays–Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm

Ticket Pricing: Previews $10 | General Admission $34 | Student/Senior $24
$5 off if two tickets, use code 20FRIEND

With an introduction by former First Lady Laura Bush, WE ARE AFGHAN WOMEN: VOICES OF HOPE chronicles the lives of young and old, daughters and mothers, educated, and those who are still learning. These determined women are defying the odds to lead Afghanistan to a better future. Their stories are a stark reminder that in some corners of the world the struggle continues and that women’s progress in society, business, and politics cannot be taken for granted. Their eloquent words challenge all of us to answer: What does it truly mean to be a woman in the twenty-first century?

Here are Afghan women in their own words. Words that are by turns inspiring, moving, courageous, and heartbreaking. Their powerful stories create a compelling portrait of the lives, struggles, and successes of this extraordinary nation and its extraordinarily resilient women. With an introduction by Laura Bush, honorary founding co-chair of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.

Afghanistan has been described as “the worst nation in the world to be a woman.” More than fifty percent of girls who are forced into marriage are sixteen or younger. Too many women live in fear and in many areas, education and employment for women are still condemned. The women featured in We Are Afghan Women are fighting to change all that. From rug weavers to domestic violence counselors to business owners, educators, and activists, these courageous women are charting a new path for themselves, their families, their communities, and their nation. Told in their own voices, their stories vividly capture a country undone by decades of war and now struggling to build a lasting peace.

Meet Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, who ran underground schools for girls until the Taliban fell, and today has established educational centers across Afghanistan to teach women and girls basic literacy. Or Freshta Hazeq, who as a female business owner, has faced death threats, sabotage, and even kidnapping threats against her children. Naheed Farid is the youngest female member of Afghanistan’s parliament. During her campaign, opponents cut Naheed’s face out of campaign posters and her family risked complete ruin, but her husband and father-in-law never wavered, encouraging her to persevere. Here, too are compassionate women such as Masooma Jafari, who started a national midwives association. Her own mother was forced into marriage at age twelve and gave birth to her first child at age thirteen.

RETURN TO THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL the honest, entertaining and life-affirming sequel to The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, featuring the same loveable cast of characters, from internationally bestselling author Deborah Rodriguez. In a little coffee shop in war-torn Kabul, five very different women unite for one important cause: to protect the women in Afghanistan. Now back home in the US, SUNNY, the founder, is finding it difficult to settle and dreams of returning to her beloved coffee shop. SHEA is haunted by a traumatic event that makes her renounce her Afghan heritage.

YAZMINA, the coffee shop's new owner, wants to use her newfound security to help other women avoid the fate she narrowly escaped. ZARA, promised in marriage to a violent man she's never met, arrives at the coffee shop seeking sanctuary. And HALAJAN, the grandmother still breaking all the rules, is secretly learning to drive ...Together, these five women set out to change their lives, and the lives of women in Afghanistan, forever.

I’m pleased to share that four of Afghan Culture Unveiled Recipes are included in this book.

HAPPY AFGHAN NEW YEAR - SAL-E-NOW MUBARAK

Happy New Year - Sal-e-Now Mubarak

Just like these lovely Afghan children, as a little girl I dressed up in traditional clothes on Nowroz

By Humaira

In the United States most people I have encountered are familiar with “Nouroz” or New Year which is considered to be an exclusively Persian holiday only celebrated by Iranians.  The truth is, what was originally a Zoroastrian festival  is now celebrated in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kurdistan, the Indian Sub Continent and many other countries in the world.  

Although each country celebrates it a little differently, it always centers around the celebration of spring and the beginning of a new year.  March 2oth in Afghanistan marks the start of year 1392, a date based on Prophet  Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E..  

People ask me about Afghan culture, customs and traditions all the time.  

I sometimes find it hard to answer such questions in a simple way.  What makes it difficult to explain is that lot of our traditions and customs are influenced by religion, cultural traditions, provincial resources and of course each family’s traditions. So, I will tell you about Nowroz  from my Afghan family’s perspective.

The first day of Nowroz or the Afghan calendar falls on the March equinox, the first day of spring.  An equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator; day and night are of nearly equal length at all latitude.  The March equinox generally occurs around March 21st, give or take a couple of days.  Nowroz means new day in Dari, the language spoken in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan the planning for Nowroz starts two weeks before the actual date.  There are many preparations that go into celebrating the New Year and you guessed it, food is the most important part of the festivities.   Afghan refugees around the world organize Nowroz celebrations that allows their communicties to come together and celebrate.  

I have to admit, Nowroz was not a big holiday for my family, but thanks to my extended family we had a great taste of it.  Growing up, Nowroz was always bittersweet because while I loved the food and the festivals, it also signaled the start of the school year.  In Afghanistan children go to school from March to November, Saturday to Thursday.  Next time your kids complain about school tell them Afghan children go to school six days a week.  That should set them straight.

The highlight of my Nowroz celebration was to get a few colorful balloon

Afghan Nowroz Celebration 101

There are many customs around Nowroz but here are the most common ones that I have experienced with Afghans:

Haft Mewa:

My aunts’ preparation of a very special drink called Haft Mewa (seven fruits) was the highlight of Nowroz for me. Haft Mewa which we are calling the Afghan New Year Fruit Medly on this blog is essentially compote made from seven different dried fruits and nuts served in their own juices. Traditionally the seven ingredients are as follows: red raisins, black raisins, yellow raisins, senjid (the dried fruit of the oleaster tree), pistachio, dried apricot, and dried apple. Our Haft Mawa recipe is very flexible, we have formed it around what one can find at Trader Joe's a popular American grocery store.  

Samanak:

This is a special sweet made from wheat germ which requires several weeks of perparation. The custom is for women to gather, essentially a “girls’ night in” and prepare the dish from late in the evening until daylight, singing special songs.  I was in Afghanistan the Spring of 2006. My cousin invited me to attend her Samanak party.  I was afraid to leave my hotel at night so I declined.  Instead I stayed in my guest house with my beer drinking, whiskey jugging travel mates. You can imagine how sorry I am for missing this wonderful opportunity.

Mela e Gul e Surkh:

It means the Red Flower Festival referring to the red tulip.  It’s mainly celebrated in Mazar i Sharif in Northern Afghanistan where many people travel to experience the gorgeous flowers.  However, I do remember tulips at our house and around town during the Nowroz celebration in Kabul and even to this day when I see tulips I think of this holiday. 

Buzkashi:

I have to say the Buzkashi tournament ranks pretty high on my list of memories, perhaps as high as the Haft Mewa.  Buzkashi is the Afghan national sport, similar to polo but we use…. are you ready…. a dead stuffed goat instead of a “ball”. Buzkashi was made famous this year by a movie called Buzkashi Boys which was nominated for an academy award.

Special Food:

People cook SabziChallaw (spinach and rice) on the eve of Nowroz to welcome spring and a prosperous crop for the coming year. Also, bakeries make Kulcha e Nowrozy, a special rice cookie very similar to our Gluten Free Butter Cookies, but decorated in red and green colors in honor of the holiday.  People also make or buy Mahi (fried fish) and Jelabi (fried sugar dessert) mostly eaten at picnics.

Festivals and Picnics:

There are many festivals celebrating spring and the upcoming crop.  People go on picnics to enjoy the greenery, flowers and time with family.  People also go to shrines to pray for their families, the sick and a good new year.  Of course, kite flying, a national pastime in Afghanistan, is at the center of all these outings.

There is much more to say but I will stop now.  I am thrilled to share about my country and this rich festival.

Do you have Nowroz stories to share with us?

People celebrate Nowroz by going to mosque or a shrine, this is the Sakhi Shrine in Kabu

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

WHERE DO I BELONG?: MY REVEALING JOURNEY AS AN AFGHAN AMERICAN AFTER 9/11

Two weeks ago I spoke at WovenWorld 2016 Summit in San Francisco. Normally I'm asked to speak about— Afghanistan, Afghan women, Afghan culture—speaking about myself felt self congratulatory.

While putting this presentation together, I dug deep to better understand my own struggles, insights and motivations. What came fore was even surprising to me.

This is the first time that I've publicly spoken about my family's struggle as political refugees to the United States, the affects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on me and other Afghans living in the United States and what inspired me to devote the past 13 years to educating girls, women and boys in Afghanistan.

I share the video with the hope that it will resonate with those of you who struggled with displacement at a young age or at times felt you don't belong but, found a way to chart your own path. I hope you enjoy this short video.

“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”

— Rumi