A Different Kind of Daughter
The Girl Who Hid From the Taliban in Plain Sight
-
- 5,99 €
-
- 5,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
A Different Kind of Daughter is a powerful memoir about a young Pakistani girl who, until the age of twelve, was disguised as a boy so she could compete in sports.
'Maria Toorpakai has risen from the turmoil of tribal life in Pakistan to become not only a world-class athlete, but a true inspiration, a pioneer for millions of other women struggling to pave their own paths to autonomy, fulfilment and genuine personhood' – Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner
Maria Toorpakai Wazir has lived her life disguised as a boy, defying the Taliban, in order to pursue her love of sport. Coming second in a national junior weightlifting event for boys, Maria decided to put her future in her own hands by going in disguise. When she discovered squash and was easily beating all the boys, life became more dangerous.
Heart-stopping and profoundly moving, Maria shares the story of her long road and eventual triumph, pursuing the sport she loved, defying death threats and following her dream.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this powerful memoir, professional squash player Toorpakai paints her personal history from her early years living as a boy in South Waziristan, a Federally Administered Tribal Area of northwest Pakistan, to her ultimate escape and triumph: under threats from the Taliban, she defies the odds stacked against women of her culture to become an international professional athlete. The harrowing details of her story include human rights abuses and shameful treatment of women, and Toorpakai's personal account gets to the truth of the matter in a uniquely powerful way. The reader is right with Toorpakai as she witnesses murder in a shop and the execution of a young woman by stoning, or when Toorpakai's mullah beats her for possessing even the desire to play squash and calls her a "dirty girl" for challenging traditional notions of gender. Fortunately for Toorpakai, she was born to a progressive family, Her father held liberal ideas and allowed her to live as a boy: "Not long before my fifth birthday, I became keenly aware that I wasn't a typical tribal daughter I wasn't a typical girl at all." At one point in the narrative, "I told my father in a long impassioned tirade that I wanted to wear clothes like my brother's.... Not long afterward, my generous Baba came home from the bazaar with a pair of yellow shorts and a matching T-shirt for me to wear around the house." Toorpakai's story stands as a reminder of all the women currently living under oppressive regimes.
