Afghanistan in the post-Taliban period

There are few books about Afghanistan that manage to look beyond opium cultivation, the Taliban and the War Against Terror. Winter in Kabul (Metropolitan Books; Rs 900) by Ann Jones, a journalist who worked in prisons and schools in post-Taliban Afghanistan, is one of them. While Jones explores many aspects of Afghan culture (including buzkashi, the macabre national sport), she focuses on the status of women. In Kabul, she finds a large community of women outcasts — runaway childbrides, prostitutes, cast-off wives and victims of rape. Contrary to what the rest of the world has been led to believe, women in Afghanistan remain nearly as oppressed as they were under the Taliban. Talking about an English class she taught, Jones says, “Once, after I explained what blind-date meant, a woman said, ‘Like my wedding.’” Jones’ daily interactions are informed by the political and military history of Afghanistan, as well as its cultural and religious traditions. While the book can at times get bogged down in excessive historical fact, Jones’ eye for detail — as when she witnesses a fistfight in a traffic jam — make the narrative vivid. This book brings alive the people and the day-to-day life of a country which has just about started finding itself.