Ask Geo » I’m so glad to be an American woman

I’m so glad to be an American woman

October 22nd, 2008 at 10:03am Georgette Braun

Parwez Kambakhsh, 24, got 20 years for blasphemy after he ran afoul of Afghan authorities last year when he circulated an article about women’s rights under Islam after downloading it from the Internet, according to today’s Los Angeles Times.

Whenever I hear anything about Afghan women in the news, I feel sad and angry, but it also makes me rejoice to be an American.

I learned, though, by reading “The Kabul Beauty School” by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson (available through the Rockford Public Library) that despite the horrendous abuse and difficulties Afghan women face, that their dreams and small wonders keep them going. The book is a true story about Rodriguez leaving the U.S., setting up a beauty school in Afghanistan and marrying an Afghan man. It’s revealing and saddening, yet humorous in parts and more uplifting than I expected.