Afghan Women
Roqia Center for Rights, Studies and Education

ANNOUNCING A NEW BOOK

Qassarikh-e Malalay or

Khaterat-e Awaleen Leessa-ye Dokhtaran-e Afghanistan

Nasrine Abou-Bakre Gross, Editor and Compiler

Falls Church, VA, First Edition, June 1998

Prepared with VazheNegar software

Malalay High School was the first girls high school in Afghanistan and the cradle of education for thousands of Afghan girls in Kabul. The most prestigious and highly successful, Malalay was closed in 1996 when girls education became forbidden in the country.

"Qassarikh-e Malalay" or "Memories of the First Girls High School in Afghanistan" is a collection of autobiographical sketches of over one hundred of these girls and the teachers and administrators of their school, written in the Dari-Persian language. From the first graduate to the last girl, each memory tells a complete story of the person from the day she was born to the present, in her own words. These women tell you who they were, how they came to attend the school, what they learned, what they did in Afghanistan, how they left their country, where they are now, and many other tales.

Riveting, revealing and raw, "Qassarikh-e Malalay" is a must for the serious student of modern Afghanistan. It is also a treasure trove of information for scholars of social change as it is the first time anywhere that modernization is told from the mouth of the modernized themselves. For any Afghan, man or woman, who dreams of walking in the streets of Kabul or smelling the aroma of Kababis or rekindling our cherished past, you will be treated to a real feast of memory and emotion, with all your senses! You will rediscover your identity!

If you can fight back the tears and forget for a moment the tragedy that is Afghanistan, you will see in the "Qassarikh-e Malalay" who the women of Afghanistan really are, these beings so magnificent they cannot be seen or heard by mere mortals; vital objects of great games; emissaries of peace and progress; or wretched of the earth the world would rather forget? Find out for yourself! Make no mistake, the pictures alone speak volumes; the book provides answers germane to our times and uniquely Afghan.

"Qassarikh-e Malalay", with soft cover, has 500 pages of 7.5" x 9.5" and over 170 photographs, along with lists of subjects, teachers, employees and students across time. The price is US$30.00 for individuals and US$40.00 for institutions. Shipping and handling is $6.00 inside the United States; $18.00 outside (there are European distributors as well). Please make your check or money order to, and order from:

Proceeds go towards education and the girls of Malalay still living in Afghanistan.

In addition, the compiler is preparing the second volume. She is respectfully requesting all former students, teachers and employees including cleaning crews, gardeners and gatekeepers or their families, or if readers know of such persons, to please contact her. Thank you kindly.