In spite of her new relative freedom, Parvana – nor her family – is hardly safe, and they must struggle daily to survive, holding on to the hope of a family reunion someday. As “Kaseem,” she becomes the family’s breadwinner. Masquerading as a boy, Parvana can leave the family’s stifling one-room apartment to go to the market, take over her father’s job as a letter-reader-and-writer-for hire, to buy food, and feed her family. Her teenage older sister is a perfect target for kidnapping.Īt 11, Parvana is still young enough to dress in her late older brother’s leftover clothing, even if her resemblance to Hossain makes her mother weep.

Meanwhile, their bereft mother – a former radio journalist – cannot get out of bed. The only male at home now is Parvana’s toddler brother, hardly a likely escort.

Under Taliban rule, women are forbidden in Kabul to leave the house unless fully covered and accompanied by a male family member. When Parvana’s gentle father is suddenly beaten without cause and locked away for being an educated citizen, her family is left without a means to support themselves.

Mud City by Deborah Ellis