"The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters and the Remarkable Story of One Family's Survival During the Taliban Reign" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Angela: Amazing book, such brave, strong ladies, makes you feel grateful for the freedom we have in the UK

United Kingdom on Aug 19, 2023

JaneTruelightbooks: I was fascinated by the way the women of Afghanistan kept afloat by sewing and were able to teach younger women a useful skill. There was also tension in the story as the women tried to avoid being found out. I believe there were at least 4 sisters and a younger brother who escorted them as they sold dresses in shops for,weddings in particular. Otherwise, they had to wear burkas and heavy clothes that covered them outside.
It was almost a thriller as I found myself concerned for their safety.

Canada on Feb 08, 2022

Sridhar I.: Those working in the social sector especially in developing / underdeveloped countries will find the story fairly commonplace since they experience similar stories in their daily lives. Sure, these countries would not have a Taliban but many countries do have a patriarchal system which dissuades women from coming forward and women wanting to rise face many similar challenges.
Those who are not associated with the social sector will however find it a good read.

India on Oct 01, 2021

wendyj: I have read one or two books about Afganistan and I was looking forward to reading a true story, but somehow there was not enough desciption detail to bring the scene to life. The story was interesting, however and showed some of the the hardships involved in living under the Taliban.

United Kingdom on Oct 20, 2013

Mrs. R. C. Tinsley: This is the perfect companion piece to "A Thousand Splendid Suns." If you are interested in the lives of women in Afghanistan, of the wider Middle East, then this will appeal to you. It is uplifting because it shows how a group of women refuse to accept the vile and restricted roles assigned them by radical Islam. The Taliban regime wanted women to be unseen, powerless and submissive (the Taliban insurgents still do, as do Islamists across the Muslim world), but the women in this book crave out their own identity, fighting back carefully, quietly but effectively. They set up a business and find themselves inspiring others. This is the triumph of the human spirit against monstrous conformity in the miserable shape of a radical ideology that tolerates no individuality. However, because the book is set in relatively sophisticated and cosmopolitan Kabul, it does not tell the story of the much more circumscribed lives of women living in rural Afghanistan. Their suffering continues today, away from the media. They deserve a novel, too.

United Kingdom on Sep 16, 2012

J. Lavoie: As I write this Review, I find countless others giving summarizations prior to mine. Nevertheless, I must give my Review, as to me, this book is one of the most informative books there is about women surviving today, day to day, under a regime of what we Americans find as our own personal terrorist threat.

NOTE: I have read numerous books that involve 'living life in fear of the Taliban' as well as 'warfare against the Taliban'. So, in my judgement, if there were ever a book to acquaint other people with on this subject...that of to live (survive) as a woman, under Taliban and/or al-Qaeda rule, this book is my recommendation of a first option or introduction. It was written the way it was lived. You can't get any closer to living under their tentacles than the way this family of young women did.

As you have read by now from other Reviews, the story is about the survival of a family of young women and one young brother, who have to change their entire lives because the Taliban has taken total control of their city... Kabul, in Afghanistan, with the help of a newly formed radical Islamic group called al-Qaeda.
Their parents fled the region for their own reason,...

United States on Jul 31, 2011

Sylvia Scott: In 2006 I began an indepth study on entrepreneurship and women in Afghanistan. In fact, my focus was on teen girls as entrepreneurs and how to work with them in war-torn Afghanistan. Over the next two years I met Afghan-American women, American women working in Afghanistan, and was introduced to several non-profits that helped women in Afghanistan. One point that I learned was-if the country was to come out of the ashes of the 20 plus years of war, women needed to be educated and they also needed to become part of the economic system. I was introduced to Gayle Tzemach, we met and she really opened my eyes as to what was happening in Kabul. This was in 2008 and she had already been there on several trips. I began to read all of her work on women as entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. When I learned of her book it was a natural for me to want to read it. As the founder of the Girl's CEO Connection and creator of the Realizing a Vision conferences I am always looking for teen entrepreneurs. In the case of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana-it would simply be reading an extended version of Gayles' writing and learn about some young girls in the past in Afghanistan. Much to my...

United States on Apr 17, 2011