My Name Is Parvana (13 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

When I heard about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 1996, and the crimes they perpetrated against women and girls, I decided to get involved. This started me on a journey that resulted in the first three books about Parvana and Shauzia —
The Breadwinner
,
Parvana’s Journey
and
Mud City
.

Since then, readers have wondered what happened to Parvana after she was reunited with her mother and sisters and living in a refugee camp, still writing letters to her friend Shauzia. Parvana and Shauzia are fictional characters, but in my head they are very real people, and I wondered myself how they were managing in an Afghanistan that is still at war after more than three decades.

In late 1979 the Soviet Union invaded the country, but even after they were defeated in 1989, the fighting continued, as various groups fought for control of the country. The Taliban militia, one of the groups that the United States and Pakistan once funded, trained and armed, took control of the capital city of Kabul in 1996. They imposed brutal and restrictive laws on girls and women. Schools for girls were closed down, women were no longer allowed to hold jobs, and strict dress codes were enforced.

The Taliban also harbored al-Qaeda, the terrorists who were responsible for the September 11th attacks on the United States in 2001. In response, the US led a coalition of nations into a war in Afghanistan. The Taliban was defeated, and by the end of 2005 a new constitution had been approved and a new president and parliament had been elected.

But the fighting continued. The Taliban returned to fight against the Afghan government and the various foreign military forces that remained in the country. Other regional leaders known as war lords splintered into different groups and have continued to fight for power. A lot of money has gone into Afghanistan for the reconstruction effort. Unfortunately, much of this money has gone to the war or into corruption at all levels.

The Afghan people are trying to rebuild their lives and their country against this backdrop. The years of war and repression left Afghanistan lacking many basic things that other countries take for granted. School buildings, books, chalk, pens and trained teachers are still in short supply. Half the children in Afghanistan still have no access to any kind of schooling. Many Afghans still live in informal refugee camps without water, plumbing or electricity.

And the situation remains difficult, especially for women and children. Their daily lives are still threatened by suicide bombings, armed conflict and other forms of violence.

Violence against women in Afghanistan continues because of poverty, the ongoing instability caused by decades of war, and the clinging of many to a system of values that believes women are property and are to be silent and obedient. Although there are laws on the books against forced marriage — and against child marriage — the laws are seldom enforced. Struggles for women’s rights continue, with girls’ schools being burned and women activists being assassinated.

Today some foreign countries, including the United States, are moving to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. But the war continues, and it is not clear who might be the winner in the end.

For the Afghan people, life must go on. And individuals like Parvana, Shauzia and Mrs. Weera are working to make life better. They, and the many, many Afghan women, men and children like them, are the ones the world needs to support. We owe it to them.

The Breadwinner

Deborah Ellis

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. Her father works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day he is arrested and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.

As conditions for the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must disguise herself as a boy, and become the breadwinner.

“A great kids’ book
...
a graphic geopolitical brief that’s also a girl-power parable.”
—
Newsweek

“...
a book
...
about the hard times
—
and the courage
—
of Afghan children.”
—
Washington Post

Hackmatack Award • Middle East Book Award • Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Award • Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize • YALSA PPYA

Paperback • 978-0-88899-416-5 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

EPUB • 978-1-55498-007-9 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

Parvana’s Journey

Deborah Ellis

A war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana’s father has died, and her mother, sister and brother have gone to a faraway wedding, not knowing what has happened to him. Parvana doesn’t know where they are. She just knows she has to find them.

And so, masquerading as a boy, she sets out across the desolate countryside through the war zone that Afghanistan has become.

“Through spare, affecting prose, Ellis
…
makes the children’s journey both arduous and believable.”
—
Booklist

*
“This sequel to The Breadwinner easily stands alone... An unforgettable read.”
—
School Library Journal
, starred review

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award • Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award Honour Book • Governor General’s Literary Award Finalist • Ontario Library Association Golden Oak Award • Ruth Schwartz Award • YALSA BBYA

Paperback • 978-0-88899-519-3 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

EPUB • 978-1-55498-030-7 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

Mud City

Deborah Ellis

Parvana’s best friend, Shauzia, has fled Afghanistan and now has to survive on her own on the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. With her dog as her only friend, she must scrounge for food, beg for money and look for a safe place to sleep every night.

But could it be worse than a lifetime spent in a refugee camp? This is a powerful and very human story of a feisty, driven girl who tries to take control of her own life.

*
“A stunning portrait
...”
—
Quill & Quire
, starred review

“… a fine, strong addition to Ellis’ growing list of novels. Highly recommended.” —
Toronto Star

Hackmatack Award • Lamplighter Award • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Paperback • 978-0-88899-542-1 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

EPUB • 978-1-55498-027-7 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

Kids of Kabul:
Living Bravely Through a Never-ending War

Deborah Ellis

Since its publication in 2000, hundreds of thousands of children all over the world have read and loved
The Breadwinner
, the fictional story of eleven-year-old Parvana living in Kabul under the terror of the Taliban.

But what has happened to Afghanistan’s children since the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out. The two dozen or so boys and girls featured in this book range in age from ten to seventeen, and they speak candidly about their lives now. They are still living in a country at war. Yet these kids are weathering their lives with remarkable courage and hope, getting as much education and life experience and fun as they can.

“This nuanced portrayal of adolescence in a struggling nation refrains, refreshingly, from wallowing in tragedy tourism and overwrought handwringing. Necessary.”
—
Kirkus Reviews

*
“... compelling and motivating....
A valuable, informative resource.”
—
School Library Journal
, starred review

Hardcover with jacket • 978-1-55498-181-6 • $15.95

EPUB • 978-1-55498-203-5 • $13.95

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Ellis is best known for her Breadwinner series, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a series that has been published in twenty-five languages, with more than one million dollars in royalties donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She recently received the Ontario Library Association’s President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Ontario.

Deborah lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Groundwood Books, established in 1978, is dedicated to the production of children’s books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. We publish in Canada, the United States and Latin America. Our books aim to be of the highest possible quality in both language and illustration. Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, though we sometimes also buy outstanding books from other countries.

Many of our books tell the stories of people whose voices are not always heard in this age of global publishing by media conglomerates. Books by the First Peoples of this hemisphere have always been a special interest, as have those of others who through circumstance have been marginalized and whose contribution to our society is not always visible. Since 1998 we have been publishing works by people of Latin American origin living in the Americas both in English and in Spanish under our Libros Tigrillo imprint.

We believe that by reflecting intensely individual experiences, our books are of universal interest. The fact that our authors are published around the world attests to this and to their quality. Even more important, our books are read and loved by children all over the globe.