Life In Afghanistan

Over the centuries, army wives have followed their men to the front, helped keep order in far-flung parts of the empire or waited anxiously at home. Army Wives uses firsthand accounts, letters and diaries to tell their stories. We meet imperial army wives in Crimea and the Raj, explore the experiences of 20th-century wives in two world wars and a Cold War and hear from modern women supporting their men in the war on terror. From how army wives communicate with their husbands to the impact of life-changing injury and bereavement, Army Wives examines what it really means to be part of the 'army family'.

"You will be a son, my daughter." With these stunning words Ukmina learned that she was to spend her childhood as a boy. In Afghanistan there is a widespread practice of girls dressing as boys to play the role of a son. These children are called bacha posh: literally "girls dressed as boys." This practice offers families the freedom to allow their child to shop and work - and in some cases, it saves them from the disgrace of not having a male heir. But in adolescence, religion restores the natural law.

Few westerners will ever be able to understand Muslim or Afghan society unless they are part of a Muslim family. Twenty years old and in love, Phyllis Chesler, a Jewish-American girl from Brooklyn, embarked on an adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century. Drawing upon her personal diaries, Chesler recounts her ordeal, the nature of gender apartheid - and her longing to explore this beautiful, ancient, and exotic country and culture.