I write for female voices that often do not get heard; not even by other females... This poem, from my book, The Afghan Mona Lisa , focuses on one such tragedy: that of child marriages. ( Click here for educational video) After investigating and listening to long hours of heartbreaking stories by Afghan women in numerous countries around the world for over ten years, I found that this practice is common not because of a dominating patriarchy, but because the mothers and grandmothers arrange these marriages and force their children into them. Yes, it is mostly the women of the family who most tragically pass on the cruel tradition of child marriage. I found it even more astonishing to find child brides common among Afghans in Hamburg, Germany where I was doing fieldwork. My passion is to educate the Afghan mothers, grandmothers, and the daughters on how critical it is for this oppressive tradition to end. For only t...
Women's Spiritual Poetry