"Four young women sit together, waiting for the phone to ring. When the call finally comes, their friend's voice is crackly and hard to make out, but they wait patiently for the signal to improve so they can start discussing their chosen book. Every Thursday, the five friends come together away from the disapproving gaze of the Taliban for a reading circle. They read not for entertainment but, as they put it, to understand life and the world around them."
"Parwana*, 21, lives in a different district so has to join by phone. She was still a child when the Taliban pulled girls out of education, so didn't get to finish school. Now, she says, her entire week revolves around books. When they banned us from attending school, I lost all hope. My mother encouraged me, but I knew things wouldn't improve, she says. I decided to do something myself and now I have this reading circle."
Five young women hold a clandestine weekly reading circle to escape Taliban scrutiny and to learn about life rather than for entertainment. Most members meet in person while one, Parwana*, 21, joins by phone from another district. Parwana missed formal schooling when the Taliban pulled girls out of education and now structures her week around books. The group reads mostly classics that address suffering, choice, repression and patriarchal power. Parwana led a discussion on The Year of Turmoil, a novel about Noushafarin trapped in an oppressive marriage. The women identify with themes of oppression, faith and standing up to force as part of their daily reality.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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