《Letters To My Daughters》

In this courageous memoir, Fawzia Koofi, Afghanistan's most popular female politician, gives us her first-hand account of Afghan history through the rule of the Mujahedeen and Taliban, her experiences of the Afghanistan War, and the effects of these events on the lives of women in Afghanistan. In writing Letters to My Daughters, Fawziahas created a fresh take on Afghan society and Islam, and a gripping account of a life lived under the most harrowing of circumstances.

Fawziais the nineteenth child of twenty-three in a family with seven wives. Her father was an incorruptible politician strongly attached to Afghan tradition. When he was murdered by the Mujahedeen, Fawziais illiterate mother escaped with her children and decided to send the ten-year-old Fawziato school. As the civil war raged, Fawziadodged bullets and snipers to attend class, determined to be the first person in her family to receive an education.

Fawziawent on to marry a man she loved, and they had two cherished daughters, Shohra and Shaharzad. Sadly, the arrival of the Taliban spelled an end to Fawzia's freedom. Outraged and deeply saddened by the injustice she saw around her, and by the tainting of her Islamic faith, she discovered politics for herself, following in her father's footsteps. Tragically, this choice has lead to security threats to her life by Islamic extremists. Thus, Letters to My Daughtersis not only a record of her life, but also acts as a literal letter through which Fawzia can pass on her wisdom about justice and dignity to her daughters, not knowing for how long she will survive such attacks.

Fawzia Koofi is Afghanistan's first female Parliament speaker and a noted activist for women and children’s rights. Her forthcoming book THE FAVORED DAUGHTER will be released January 3rd, 2012 by Palgrave.

Koofi is currently a leading candidate for the presidential elections in 2014 and has been quoted by the BBC, Time, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Globe and Mail, and many others. Koofi was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. Before getting elected to Parliament, Koofi was employed by UNICEF as a child protection officer from 2002 through 2004.

The mother of two girls, she lives in Kabul.