Dancing in the Mosque

A People Book of the Week a Kirkus Best Nonfiction of the YearAn exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mothers unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions.With the city and the military on edge,it was not uncommon foran armed soldiertopoint his gun at the pregnant womans bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Frightened and in pain,she was onceforced to make her way on foot. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful sons birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life.No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for womens rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society.Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mothers searing letter to a son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her storyand that of Afghan womenHomeira challenges you to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Her story asks you to consider the lengths you would go to protect yourself, your family, and your dignity.