Chapter 1 Parvana sits on a blanket in the Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) marketplace using a chador to cover her face. She is listening to her father read a letter, thinking she could read almost as well… except for the fact that the Taliban—who completely run the show around here—have no tolerance for women out and about, let alone reading in public. As far as the Taliban is concerned, women aren't allowed to do much of anything, and because of this, Parvana, who is in sixth grade, and her sister Nooria, who is in high school, were sent home from school when the Taliban came to power. Girls are officially forbidden from getting an education. The Taliban didn't just screw up Parvana's and Nooria's educations, though—they also outlawed women working, so their mother lost her job as a writer for a radio station, and their family lost a whole income. In short, the Taliban has majorly screwed things up for Parvana and her family. For a year now, Parvana's family of five has been stuck in a one-room apartment. This includes Parvana's five-year-old sister named Maryam and her little brother, Ali, who is two. While Mother and the little kids and Nooria are stuck inside all day, Parvana is the lucky one and she gets out at least for a few hours each day to help her father walk to the marketplace since he's got a bum leg. No one bothers her when she's out and about, which is good since she's a pretty small eleven-year-old and doesn't pose much of a threat. Father tells the Taliban that Parvana's the only one that can help him walk since he lost part of his leg when the school he used to teach in was bombed. (Ugh.) Parvana knows how to follow the rules outside of the house, and she dutifully keeps her head down and never makes eye contacts with the Tallies. It's best to be "invisible" (1.8) because the Taliban like to beat and whip women. People pay Parvana's father to read their letters for them now; most people in Afghanistan can't read. Parvana can read, though, because her parents both attended university and believe strongly that everyone—even girls—has the right to learn (1.12). (As you might've guessed, Shmoop agrees completely.) Most of Father's customers speak Dari, which is good because that Parvana's most fluent language, though she can understand a little of Pashtu as well. Her parents can speak both languages, in addition to English. (Mother and Father seem super smart, don't you think?) The market is the place to be. Men buy and sell, while tea boys run tea between stalls. Parvana thinks running around the market would be great fun—way better than being stuck in the apartment—but what she really thinks would be great is to be back in school. It seems our girl majorly misses history class, especially learning about conquerors from the past kicking the bad guys out of Afghanistan. Now the Afghan Taliban militia rules the country, and these guys are serious control freaks. When the Taliban first kicked girls out of schools, Parvana was pretty psyched—no more math tests—but Nooria promptly let her know that she was being stupid. Education has always been a big part of Parvana's family, helping them land high-paying jobs and buy a big house with lots of rooms—that is, until bombs leveled the house. Since then, the family's kept moving, and each time their living environment got smaller, until finally they found themselves in the one-room (that's one room, not one bedroom) apartment they currently reside in. War has been raging in Afghanistan for twenty years, and Parvana has never known any differently. Time for a little history lesson: first, Afghans were at war with the Soviets, and when the Soviets left, they turned on each other. (See? We told you it was little.) Parvana has run from bombs her whole life, though lately it seems like Kabul is being spared and most of the war is taking place to the north. But the country is still under Taliban control. Taliban means "seeker of knowledge"; Parvana's father thinks religion should be about kindness not killing. The time comes for Parvana and Father to head home, so Parvana packs up the items they are trying to sell, which are mostly things from home that they can do without. With the help of a walking stick and Parvana's arm, Father hobbles along; he used to have a false leg but he sold it. This seems to be the latest trend, though it is often husbands selling their wives' false legs. What do they need them for anyway? It's not like they can go anywhere. (That's some seriously depressing logic…) Kabul used to be beautiful, but Parvana has only known it as "bricks and dust" (1.44); it makes her angry and sad to think of what has been taken away from their country and her family. Parvana tries to maneuver her father through the broken roads—she has no idea how women wearing burqas manage. When she mentions this to Father, he says, "They fall down a lot" (1.49)—and when he does, we understand that the very infrastructure of Kabul is unfriendly to women. Parvana sees her favorite mountain and remembers a funny story. When they first arrived, she asked her father what its name was and he answered: "Mount Parvana" (1.52). Good joke, Pops—but really—what's it's name? Father told her that people name mountains, so that's what he named this one; the whole family laughed. No one is laughing now though, as they approach their apartment—only half of it still stands after it was hit by a "rocket attack" (1.57). The outside stairs that lead to the third floor aren't very sturdy, but Parvana's father refuses to rely on a railing. Finally home, they go inside and join the family. Chapter 2 Nooria and Mother are cleaning, which they do a lot since there isn't much else for them to fill their time with. They need Parvana to fetch some water because the tank is empty, which is pretty bad news as far as Parvana is concerned since it means six trips with the water bucket to the water tap. Nooria, in classic big sister fashion, tells Parvana she should have done it yesterday when she was first asked to. Though Nooria annoys Parvana sometimes, Parvana doesn't think she's all bad, and she envies her sister's long, thick hair. Parvana's is "thin and stringy" (2.8). Parvana resents that she is the only one that gets water for the family—or she resents it today, anyway; other times she feels proud. It is dangerous to go anywhere without a man. When Parvana finally sits down, she compliments Maryam on her drawing, but before she gets too comfortable, Nooria and Mother say they need help cleaning. Parvana looks around the tiny room (2.22) her family lives in—most of their stuff has been destroyed by bombs or stolen. The floors used to be covered by lovely Afghan carpets, but now the floors are just cement. It isn't just their home and belongings that have been destroyed by the Taliban, though— their social lives have been crushed too, and they can't even talk to other people in the building because, according to Father, the Taliban encourages people to spy on each other. Parvana feels so lonely. Father has his books, while Nooria and Mother keep each other company, but she feels like she has no one. And to make matters worse, Mother wants to sell her "good shalwar kameez" (2.29); Parvana begs her mother not to. Mother tells her she has no say in the matter though, plus it's not like she can go anywhere worthy of the outfit. Parvana asks why they can't sell some of Nooria's clothes instead (just because these are desperate times doesn't mean Parvana's not still a pesky kid sister), but the answer is simple: Nooria will need them when she is married. Parvana, like Mr. T, pities the fool who will marry Nooria. Mother places Hossain's clothes in the cupboard, and as she does, she looks sad—Hossain, the eldest child and son, was killed by a land mine when he was fourteen. No one in the family talks about him though, because the memory is too painful. Nooria has filled Parvana on some details about Hossain's life, though, and apparently he liked to play games and really liked to play with his little sister, Parvana. Aw… but also super sad, right? Pitying Mother, Parvana helps her with dinner. The meal is served Afghan-style, meaning the family gathers around a plastic cloth spread on the floor. At the end of the meal, Nooria and Mother simultaneously start to clean up—it's like they share a "secret signal" (2.26), but Parvana has no idea what it is. Ali rests on Mother's lap; Father rests too. After his rest, Father changes into his "white shalwar kameez" (2.48), and Parvana thinks he looks handsome with his beard combed. (The Taliban says all men must grow beards.) Now it's story time. Yay. Father tells a tale about the British invading Afghanistan in 1880; the Afghans fought, but the British wouldn't leave. Then, a very young girl named Malali ran out in the street, took off her veil, and waved it as a flag. She encouraged her countrymen to keep fighting, and keep fighting they did, all the way to victory. The moral of the story? The women of Afghanistan are brave, and they've inherited "the courage of Malali" (2.61). Nooria wonders how they can be brave though, when they can't even leave their apartments. Father explains there are different types of battles, and Mother chimes in, "Including the battle with the supper dishes" (2.64), which everyone chuckles about… … until Taliban soldiers barge through their door. They soldiers grab Father and search the apartment; Nooria is hiding, and the little ones are screaming. The Talibs don't like foreign ideas, and they aren't happy that Father was educated in England—as they try to take him away, Mother tries to stop the soldiers, but one of them hits her on the head with a rifle. In desperation, Parvana grab Father by his waist as he yells, "Take care of the others, my Malali" (2.78)—and then Parvana watches as soldiers drag her father down the steps, ripping his shalwar kameez. Inside their apartment, soldiers search the cupboards, throwing the few belongings they have left onto the floor. Remembering Father's secret stash of books, Parvana attacks the soldiers and they hit her on the back with their sticks. Finally the soldiers leave. Maryam strokes Parvana's hair and the family sits, shocked by what's just happened. Chapter 3 After the two little ones fall asleep, Mother, Nooria, and Parvana clean the ransacked apartment; then they spread quilts on the floor and go to sleep too. But who can sleep? Parvana misses the sound of Father snoring; his presence has always helped her feel safe. She worries about him in prison—he's joining lots of other people they know in there. Parvana tells her mother to put a lamp in the window so he can find his way home if they let him go—but walking may be a problem for him. Parvana stares at the one, small window in their apartment. The Taliban ordered all windows to be painted black so no one could see the women inside, but Father refused; it was the only source of sunlight for crying out loud. Finally the long, sleepless night is over and it's time for a breakfast of nan and last night's boiled water. Yum? No time to wait for tea, says Mother—she and Parvana are going to get Father out of jail. Sounds good to Parvana—she's always wondered what the inside of jail looked like—but there's one minor problem: women can't walk outside without a man. So Nooria forges a note from Father giving Mother permission to be outside the home, and Parvana sticks the note up her sleeve. Then Nooria gives her little sister a big hug. Yup—this is definitely a risky mission. Off Mother and Parvana go to rescue Father, with Mother clad in the "regulation burqa" (3.38), which is a total pain in the butt to move around in. Even wearing that tent though, she still moves faster than Parvana. This woman is on a mission. Mother stops to show peddlers Father's photo. Parvana's not thrilled about this plan, since photographs are illegal and she really doesn't want to meet anymore Taliban soldiers. The prison is "dark and ugly" (3.43) when they arrive, and Parvana's knees are shaking. Mother, on the other hand, marches right up to the guards and demands Father's release. Go Mother, go. Thoughts of Malali inspire Parvana to do the same, as she shouts: "I'm here for my father" (3.51). The soldiers have had enough from Mother and Parvana, so they tear Father's photograph and start hitting Mother with a stick; shortly after, they beat Parvana as well. Mother is beaten to the ground and Parvana tells the soldiers to back off, that they will leave. The soldier spits at Parvana and Mother, then Parvana scoops up her mom and they limp away. Chapter 4 It's pretty late by the time Parvana and Mother get home from prison, and Parvana's body is killing her—her feet are covered with broken blisters, and are "bloody and raw" (4.2). Ouch. Mother's feet, though, are worse since she hasn't been out for a year and a half. (We're just gonna pause for a second to let that sink in: Mother hasn't been out in a year and a half.) And it's not like Father didn't encourage her to leave the house; he wanted her to go out into the city. She's a writer, after all, and how would she know what to write about stuck inside the house? Mother thought that was pointless to write though, since the Taliban wouldn't allow her to be published; besides, if they had left Afghanistan like she wanted to when this whole mess started, they wouldn't be in this position in the first place. When Mother asked Father if they could leave though, he said no way. As far as he saw things, if educated Afghans didn't stick around to rebuild, then who would? Mother collapses on the toshak and cries; and then she cries some more. Nooria takes care of Mother, while Maryam carries water to Parvana for her to clean her face and soak her feet. Parvana tries to talk to Nooria, but falls asleep. She dreams about the soldiers hitting her and Mother—she can't help Mother, even if she screams "I am Malali" (4.21). Parvana leans on Nooria as she walks to the washroom. She notices her family leans on each other a lot. Nooria feels that she has no one to lean on, though, and she's snappish again, which means life is getting back to normal. Mother just lies on the toshak staring at the wall. The next day, Maryam and Ali are asking for Mother and Father—this goes on for days. Parvana wishes she could read Father's books for a distraction, but she doesn't dare take them out. Ali is starting to act weird—he's not crying, and he just sucks on his thumb rolled up in a ball—and the house has started to smell. To preserve water, they haven't been cleaning or rinsing out Ali's dirty diapers; plus the food is gone. Enough already—Parvana shakes her mother, telling her they have no food and they need her help, but Nooria pulls her away, explaining that Mother is depressed. The day after, Nooria tells Parvana she has to find help. Looking at Ali's sunken cheeks and Nooria's terrified face, Parvana takes the money and asks, "What should I buy?" (4.67). chapter 5 Parvana is in the marketplace, and it feels strange to be there without Father. Women are not allowed inside shops, so they stand outside and call in their orders—this would work out just fine for Parvana, except that she may get in trouble for not wearing a burqa. If she goes in the shop though, she'll definitely get in trouble for not knowing her place as a woman. So she plays it safe, and makes her first purchase—nan—from a street vendor. It smells amazing, and the Parvana is starving. Heading for the vegetable stand, she's stopped by a Talib, who yells at her for not wearing a burqa and hits her shoulder with a stick. Parvana wonders what her father would do, and then tells the solider to stop hitting her. The soldier is shocked by her defiance, giving Parvana just enough time to bolt, knocking over turnips in the process. As she runs through the streets, Parvana accidentally careens into a woman with a baby— but as luck would have it, it's Mrs. Weera, a friend of Mother's from the Afghan Women's League. Parvana explains that she is running from the Taliban, and Mrs. Weera says that's all fine and good, by why is she manhandling the bread? Parvana heads home, and Mrs. Weera comes with her—she wants to talk to Mother about writing a magazine. Before entering the apartment, Parvana warns Mrs. Weera that Mother is in rough shape. Nooria is disappointment that Parvana just brought home nan. No tea? No rice? But no matter—thank goodness Mrs. Weera is here. At least some help has arrived. A former physical education teacher, Mrs. Weera has a tall, strong body. Encouraging Parvana to work for the team (once a gym teacher, always a gym teacher), she tells her to get some water to clean up the place, and asks how long Fatana (a.k.a. Mother) has been in bed. Parvana's arms are sore and her feet are bleeding, but she keeps hauling water until there is enough to clean Mother and fill the tank. Famished and thirsty, Parvana take a swig. Nooria tells her she is stupid for drinking unboiled water—but Mrs. Weera is here to coach the whole squad, so she tells Nooria, "that's no way to keep up team spirit" (5.59). Mother, still tired, looks much better. She is sitting up, her hair is combed, and her clothes are clean. Mrs. Weera offers Parvana plain boiled water. Finally. It's sleepover time, and Mrs. Weera and her granddaughter spend the night. Parvana hears her tell Mother about her run-in with the Taliban and Mrs. Weera says they will have to come up with a new plan. Chapter 6 Great idea: let's turn Parvana into a boy. She'll be their cousin who is staying with the family while Father is gone, and as a boy, she'll be able to freely buy what the family needs at the market. Parvana isn't immediately on board, but Mrs. Weera, Mother, and Nooria think it's a great plan—and to help convince Parvana of its merits, Nooria reminds her little sis that no one will realize she's gone anyway. Siblings, man—not even war can break their pesky stride. Mother perks up thinking about the plan. Parvana can wear Hossain's clothes. Might as well put them to use, right? Parvana points out that the plan can't possibly work because she has long hair, but Nooria is happy to fix that. Where are the scissors? Parvana tries to argue that Nooria should take this on since she's the oldest and all, but Nooria promptly points out that she has a couple of body parts that would blow her cover. Mrs. Weera tells Parvana that the decision is hers to make, but also points out that she is the only one that can pull it off. Fine. Parvana concedes, and she and Mother go into the washroom so Mother can cut her hair. Mother offers to tie the hair in a bow for her Parvana to keep, but Parvana's all no thanks. As her hair falls to the floor, Parvana feels like a different person, and everything seems bigger—her forehead, her ears, her eyes—but she's okay with it. In fact, she notices, "I have a nice face" (6.39). After that, Parvana puts on Hossain's pale green shalwar kameez. Ooh, look—a pocket. Girls' clothes don't have those. She reveals her boy self to her family. Maryam is confused for a minute and mother instantly remembers Hossain; Nooria cracks a joke so Mother doesn't cry. Mother gives Parvana a white cap for her head, some money, and places her father's "pattu" around her shoulder. Not thinking, Parvana reaches for her chador—and when she realizes she doesn't need it, she worries that when people see her face they will see that she is a girl. She's afraid, and begs her mother to change her mind. Nooria, ever the helpful older sister, pipes in—she knew Parvana wasn't brave enough. It's a pretty low blow from someone who literally never leaves the house, but it gives Parvana just the kick she needs to get going, and she storms out of the house. She quickly realizes that her family was right: nobody notices her. Parvana moves through the market undetected and easily buys groceries. Proud and eager to show her family, Parvana enters the apartment only to find Mother staring at the wall again; Nooria shoves the water bucket into her hands. Mrs. Weera left, and apparently Mother is depressed—Nooria tells Parvana that, for safety purposes, she should keep Hossain's clothes on. Parvana notices Nooria's tired face and offers to help with supper. But Nooria doesn't want any help from Parvana, who will only get in her way. Mother joins them for supper and tries to be pleasant but she can't look at Parvana. At bedtime, Parvana hears Mother whisper, "Go to sleep, Hossain" (6.93).
