Afghanistanis regarded as a 'classical patriarchal' society, where old social tradition,religious doctrine and socio-economic and cultural backwardness have made womensecond-class citizens. But howhave women-on different levels-lived in Afghanistan? How have they treated beentreated, both in the private sphere and in public? And how did they resistmistreatment during the war inside Afghanistan, in refugee camps or indiaspora? Who are the sponsors and perpetrators of human rights violationsagainst Afghanistani women? What are the connections between Islam, localcustoms, the mistreatment of women, and women's connectedness to revolution andjihad? This book provides answers to these questions through aninnovative study of the life and short stories of one of the country's leadingfemale writers, Maryam Mahboob. Ifoffers a completely different image of both the suffering and resistance ofAfghanistani women than that we in the 'West' have come to know.