The extraordinary memoir of Zahra Joya — the Afghan journalist who spent her childhood disguised as a boy so she could go to school, and grew up to found a news agency devoted to the women of her country.
Under the Taliban's first regime, girls were barred from the classroom. So a young Zahra became Mohammad — borrowing a boy's name, a boy's clothes, and a boy's future — and walked to school every day in a disguise that could have cost her everything.
Decades later, as a journalist in Kabul, she founded Rukhshana Media, reporting the stories of Afghan women that no one else was telling. Then, in August 2021, the Taliban returned — and Zahra was forced to flee the country she had fought for.
This is a story of courage, betrayal and stubborn hope: of what it costs a woman to claim an education, a voice, and a place in the world — and of the fight that continues from exile.
Praise
“Beautifully written and powerfully told.” — Lyse Doucet
“A memoir that doubles as a warning.” — Malala Yousafzai
About the authors
Zahra Joya is an Afghan journalist and the founder of Rukhshana Media, an agency reporting on the lives of Afghan women. She was named one of TIME's Women of the Year in 2022. She now lives in the United Kingdom.
Amie Ferris-Rotman is an award-winning journalist who has reported extensively from Afghanistan and the wider region.
Perfect for readers of
Malala Yousafzai's I Am Malala, Åsne Seierstad, Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, and readers drawn to memoirs of courage under authoritarian rule.
