num_pages: 288
description: A poignant memoir by one of Afghanistan's youngest female mayors and the inspiration behind the upcoming Netflix documentary In Her Hands executive produced by Hilary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Zarifa Ghafari was three years old when the Taliban banned girls from schools and she began her education in secret. She was six when American airstrikes began. She was twenty-four when she became mayor  one of the first female mayors in the country  and first of Wardak one of the most conservative provinces in Afghanistan. An extremist mob barred her from her office; her male staff walked out in protest; assassins tried to kill her three times. Through it all Zarifa stood her ground. She ended corruption in the municipality promoted peace and tried to lift up women despite constant fear for herself and her family. When the Taliban took Kabul in 2021 Ghafari had to flee. But even that couldnt stop her. Six months later she returned to continue her work empowering women. Zarifa is an astonishing memoir that offers an unparalleled perspective of the last two decades in Afghanistan from a citizen daughter woman and mayor. Written with honesty pain and ultimately hope Zarifa describes the work she did the women she still tries to help as they live under Taliban rule and her vision for how grassroots activism can change their lives and the lives of women everywhere.
language: English
title: Zarifa: A Woman's Battle in a Man's World
publisher: PublicAffairs