Questions About Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son

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Answered Questions (3)

Does anyone have a list of questions for a book club read of this book? I haven't been able to find any yet.

Sara
1) Did the Taliban ever leave? Or did they just leave their parts in every man who grew in that country?
2) Why couldn’t Homeira be like the other vill…more
1) Did the Taliban ever leave? Or did they just leave their parts in every man who grew in that country?
2) Why couldn’t Homeira be like the other village girls? Why did Homeira always have to be in the middle of things?
3) What did you think of Mushtaq’s relationship with Homeira?
4) What did you think of Maulawi Rashid?
5) When Nasreen talks about her Talib husband strapping packages across her body when they crossed the border, what is she talking about?
6) Is the interpretation of gender norms universal in Islam and what is considered a woman’s place?
7) As humans aren’t we all fallible in the eyes of God?
8) What happened to the plight of women when the Taliban was driven from power in the early 2000's? What changed and what didn't change?
9) When she went back to Afghanistan around 2018, what attempts were made to see her son? If those attempts were thwarted, it brings me back to the previous question - what really changed?
10) If the Trump and Biden administrations had read this book, would they have committed to and carried out, respectively, the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan?
11) Will organization like the Taliban and ISIS continue to rule and destroy the chances young girls have at freedom? What is our responsibility as an affluent country where women’s rights are close to equal?
12) What growth happened, intellectually for Homeira? What growth didn’t happen that brought her husband back to taking “master” status and custody of the child?
13) How did women ever accept these conditions?
14) How did she get to the United States? Is that where she is living currently and how did she leave?
15) Why do we need dystopian novels written when the reality of some lives are so much worse?
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What happened to Siawash? Has Homeira gotten her son back?

Kiran I believe most of us also want an update on her son so I created this question.

From: https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harv...
Mittal Institute: Siawas…moreI believe most of us also want an update on her son so I created this question.

From: https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harv...
Mittal Institute: Siawash was separated from you for nearly three years. You are now reunited, and he is 8 years old. Can you talk about that powerful reunion?

Homeira Qaderi: Well, women are not the only victims of the country’s misogynistic norms. Men are also harmed by inhumane laws. Siawash has also witnessed unpleasant situations. Our current relationship is strong. It is unbreakable, but Siawash continues to remind both of us of the first days together. Sometimes he feels ashamed that he has not been good to me. Sometimes he is angry that he did not know that his mother was alive. Sometimes he dreams that he is being taken away from me. We still remember the days when I had to go to court to extend the custody period.

These reminders are all painful. Siawash still needs time to go through all this. However, the good part of the story is that he has dozens of questions that he does not want all the answers from me. He wants to work for the women of Afghanistan in the future. He wants to end women’s suffering. Of course, we joke once in a while when I tease him telling him not to become like Khalilzad and end up betraying the women of Afghanistan. Because Siawash watches the news, he knows that Khalilzad negotiated with the Taliban and basically surrendered Afghanistan to them. (less)

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Homeira how did you end up in Herat? is any part of your book fiction? what about the part with the Taliban friend?

R She was born in Herat. The entire book is a memoir, it is non-fiction and none of it is made up.

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Unanswered Questions (1)

What were you surprised by in this book?

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