>> Automated: From the Library
of Congress in Washington D.C.
>> Tim Smith: It is my pleasure
to present to you Nadia Hashimi,
who is a pediatrician from
Potomac, Maryland, who also happens
to write bestselling novels.
Her books include When the
Moon is Low and the Pearl
that Broke its Shell, which
are rooted in Afghanistan,
the home country of her parents.
One Half from the East is her
first novel for young adults.
Set in modern day Afghanistan, it
follows the life of a bacha posh,
a preteen girl dressed as a boy.
One critic said One Half
from the East is well-told
through appealing characters,
and that it sheds light
from a unique cultural
perspective on the link
between vastly different, rigidly
enforced rules for boys and girls
and gender identity issues.
It's my pleasure to present
to you Nadia Hashimi.
[ Applause ]
>> Nadia Hashimi: Hi everyone.
It's a real pleasure
to be here today.
We're in a really big
space, so I'm going to try
to have my voice carry enough.
I have my phone with me.
I swear this is just
to check time and not
because I'm going to
be texting anyone.
So, I'll tell you a little bit
about where this story came from
and why I bothered writing it.
As was mentioned, I
am a pediatrician.
My family came to the United
States from Afghanistan.
My parents came over in the early
1970s, and they came to Afghanistan
because they wanted to kind of
explore the opportunities here.
But they didn't come because
things were as bad in Afghanistan
as they are, or have been in
the past couple of decades.
So, I come from a family where
my mother grew up with sisters
who all went to school,
who were all encouraged
to pursue higher education.
My mother became an
engineer in Afghanistan.
Her sisters worked in the
airlines, at the United Nations,
in all areas of professional fields.
So, I grew up with that
information, with that knowledge,
with that picture of Afghanistan
in my mind, of it being a country
where women could do lots of things.
And as I was growing up,
I was watching a very
different Afghanistan.
And we know that the history
of Afghanistan has
been really tumultuous,
it's been really violent, and
it's been very disappointing.
Especially for what it's
done to the rights of women.
And as a young girl, I was always
very aware that I had a lot
of opportunities and I had a lot of
liberties that not every girl had.
I had a family who
really supported me.
And if I said that I wanted to be
a doctor they would say, "Well,
let's see how we can get you there."
So, I became a doctor
and about a year later,
I decided I wanted to
try writing stories.
I'd been a someone who
loved reading always,
and books I thought were a way
to explore the world,
to explore myself.
And I decided to try writing.
And to try writing, I decided I
wanted to write about the thing
that was most important to me,
the stories that were
most compelling to me.
And as a girl who grew up in a
country where I could be so much
and do so much, I decided I
wanted to write about the struggle
that girls in other parts
of the world experienced.
So, my first novel was
actually for adults
and it's called The Pearl
That Broke its Shell.
And it's the story of a
young girl in Afghanistan,
and she is the youngest in a
sisterhood of only daughters.
So, this family decides to take --
make use of an old custom in
Afghanistan, and they decide
to make this young
girl a bacha posh.
And what a bacha posh is,
is a girl dressed as a boy.
She's transformed just physically
and reintroduced into
society as a boy.
But when she becomes a boy in
Afghanistan, she gets a whole lot
of liberties and privileges that she
wouldn't otherwise have as a girl.
And she begins to take
on a confidence
that she wouldn't otherwise
have as a girl
because there are things
that she can do.
She can raise her voice;
she can run in the streets.
She can look people directly in the
eye when she's having conversations.
The expectations on a
girl are very different.
And we see that happen
not just in Afghanistan,
but we do see that happen
in other countries too.
I've seen that happen in
the United States as well.
Not just for me when I was a
girl, but I've seen it happen
for me throughout my career, also.
So, this young girl in my
first novel is transformed
into a bacha posh, and all of a
sudden she's got a whole new life
and she's got a whole new
set of potentials within her,
until she becomes a child
bride at the age of 13.
And then she's got to
figure out how she's going
to survive these circumstances.
Now the conversations that stemmed
from that book, the book clubs
that I've been able to Skype in
with, the feedback that I got
from emails, was amazing.
People were really -- they
found a lot to talk about.
You know, what is the
meaning of gender?
What are the rights of girls?
How much does religion and culture
have to do with what we expect
from our daughters and what kinds of
limitations we put on our daughters?
And so, from that came
the idea that,
why not do this for
a younger audience?
Why not start these conversations
with a crowd that is maybe younger
but still smart enough, and so tuned
in to what we need
to be talking about?
Where we can change the
expectations from a younger age.
So, that's the reason that I
wanted to write this story.
And in this story, we meet
a young character, Obadiah.
And Obadiah is also in a
family that only has daughters.
And Obadiah's father is injured
badly in a bombing in Afghanistan.
And we do hear about these
things that continue happen to --
happening in Afghanistan.
So, Obadiah's father
is badly injured
and their circumstances
change drastically.
So, whereas her father was once a
bread winner, he's now demoralized.
He's an amputee.
He can no longer provide for
his family, and they're forced
to move back to a village to get the
support of their extended family.
And from there, they decide, at
the encouragement of an aunt,
to maybe make Obadiah
into a bacha posh,
and maybe this will bring
good fortune unto the family
and boost her father's spirits
and help to restore them a bit.
And so, Obadiah, who has lived
10 years of her life as a girl,
all of a sudden becomes a boy.
And she has to figure out,
what does this mean about her?
How different is she just
because she is a boy?
And she, in school, meets another
child, another boy, once she becomes
that boy, and this boy kind of takes
an interest in her in a curious way.
And then she figures out that
this boy has a secret too.
So, I'll read to you a
short passage from the book.
And in this scene, this is where
Obadiah has met this other boy
and has figured out
what's going on here.
"I take a deep breath in
and exhale my question.
Careful to lower my voice,
even though there no
one within yards of us.
'Are you a bacha posh?'
'Of course I am,' he
says with a funny smile.
His voice is softer than it
was the last time we spoke.
Something heavy in the
air between us disappears.
I can't help but stare
at his lips and his face.
Just for a second, I
can see him as a girl.
I picture him with long hair
and his face makes total sense.
'But I'm not new to
this like you are.
You better get used to it quickly
or you'll attract a lot of attention
and it won't be good attention.'
I bite my lip.
I know he's right.
Several kids look at
me with curiosity.
Others don't notice me at all.
Then there are there rare
ones that stare outright,
like they've spotted
an extinct animal.
'What should I do?'
'You're a bacha posh.
Forget everything else
and be a boy.'
'But I've been a girl my whole life.
How can I forget everything?'
'It's not as hard you might think.'
He fidgets with his
hat, adjusting the rim
so it shields his eyes from the sun.
'I think I can help you.'
'What's your name?'
I ask him.
'Rahim.' His grin is mischievous.
'Rahim,' I repeat.
'And before?'
'Rahima,' he says.
His grin fades.
Her grin fades?
What should I call this person?
I figure he won't like me very
much if I refer to him as a girl
in any way, even if
it's just in my head.
I make up my mind that Rahim
will be a boy and nothing else.
But now that name sounds like
it belongs to someone else.
I don't think I would
even turn my head
if I heard someone calling
Rahima on the street.
Is it possible to leave
your name behind?
Could I ever not be Obadiah?
I can't imagine it.
That might be what's holding
me back from being like Rahim.
We sit on an old tire left on
the side of the schoolyard.
Rahim is wearing jeans thinned
at the knees and a polo t-shirt.
I'm wearing cargo pants
meant for a boy younger
than me, so my ankles stick out.
'Was it hard for you?'
He does not ask me what I mean.
He does not shy away
from the question.
He knows why I'm asking.
It's nice being able to
talk to someone who gets me.
In the beginning, I was a
girl dressed in boy clothes.
That was really hard.
I didn't know how to act.
I wanted to cross my legs
and fix my head scarf.
He laughs at the thought of it.
I laugh, too, trying to
imagine what Rahim would look
like with a head scarf
tied to his wizard's hat.
It's as silly as the American
actor dressed like a grandmother.
But then I realized I couldn't
be a girl dressed in boy clothes.
I had to be a boy wearing
my clothes.
This is the best thing.
You can wake up and throw on
those ugly too-short pants
and run to school.
You should up jump and down
and be loud when you want
to be and eat all you can.
You should tell people what
you think, score goals,
and let your father look at you
like you're the future
president of Afghanistan.
'How do I do that?'
Rahim stares at me.
I start to regret my question.
I feel like he's about to pick me
apart in that painful way he does.
'Stand up,' he says.
His voice goes from
delicate to rough in no time.
I do it, wondering
for a split second
if I have tire treads
on my backside.
'You remember what I
told you the other day?
Look at the way you stand,
the way you hide your eyes.
Being a boy is not all in
your pants; it's in your head.
It's in your shoulders.'
He's jabbing at me
to make his point.
'Cut it out,' I mutter.
'What?' Rahim cocks his head to
the side and flicks my earlobe.
I swipe at his hand but I'm too
late and get nothing but air.
'I said cut it out.'
I'm annoyed.
Rahim has a way of spoiling
conversations with his antics.
He palms my forehead and
pushes me toward the ground.
This time I kick at him.
I fall to the ground too,
but manage to bring my foot
to his shin on the way down.
He lets out a howl and
claps triumphantly.
'Better,' he says.
'Stand tall.
Stick your chin out like
you're daring me to hit it.
Set your feet apart.
Keep your palms open.
Let your arms swing while you walk.
If you hear something behind
you, turn around and look for it.
When you run, slap your
whole foot on the ground.
Not just your toes.
Are you carrying eggs
in your pockets?'
'Eggs?' 'No?
Then don't walk like you are.
Run like you're not
afraid of cracking shells.'
He points at my feet, not
just my chin and my elbows.
I listen to his words
and feel my body loosen.
It's easier to breathe.
Why is that?
'What else?'
'You're a boy, not
a bacha posh, Obide.
If you get that, there
is nothing else.
'Boys aren't supposed
to have weaknesses.
Boys are built of rock and metal.
We eat meat and show our teeth.
And girls?
Girls are made of flower
pedals and paper bags.
They eat berries and sip hot
tea like something might jump
out of the hot water and bite them.'
I was torn.
Half of me angry at his depiction
of girls, and the other half
of me proud not to be one for now.
'I don't know if that true,' I say.
I don't want to contradict
him but I've never thought
of myself as a paper bag.
'Tell me honestly.
You're happy being a bacha posh?'
'Is that even a question?
Why would I want to
be anything else?'
He looks at me as if I've
got potatoes for ears.
'You know what it is to be a girl.
Was it anything worth being?'
I'm not sure how to answer.
He starts to stroll the
length of the schoolyard.
I follow, trying to
synchronize my pace with his.
Left foot, right foot, left foot.
His legs are longer than mine
and I fall off beat often.
'Me? I didn't like it one bit.
I didn't realize I had a choice
or I would have asked my
mother to change me years ago.
Do you know what I used
to do when I was a girl?
Help in the kitchen, help with
the laundry, serve tea to guests,
run from the boys in the streets.'
Well, I did all those things
too until a few weeks ago.
Did I hate it?
Maybe I did.
Maybe it was all awful and
I didn't know any better.
Maybe everything had been blurry
until this exact moment,
this one conversation.
'It just feels so strange
right now,' I confess.
'It'll get easier.
It sort of just happens.
For me, it happened the
day I got this hat.'
He points to his blue cap.
'The day I got this, I knocked over
four boys playing Gorsai and stayed
on my feet for the whole game.
I haven't fallen once as
long as I have this hat on.
It's my good luck charm.
Stick close by and it'll
rub off on you too.'
Rahim looks over at his friends who
are heading back into the school.
I feel lucky to have
this exciting new friend.
If we were girls, we
wouldn't have ever met.
It's only because we're
a special kind of boy
that we have found each other.
Maybe his hat has rubbed
off on me already.
When he turns back to me, I
can see the girl in his eyes.
He takes my hand and squeezes it
between his long, thin fingers.
'Nobody helped me when I first
changed, but I'm going to help you.
We'll be like brothers,' he laughs.
I laugh too.
Not because he's funny,
but because I'm happy.
He always seems to have a look on
his face, and now that I can stare
at him straight on, and not
out of the corner of my eye,
I can see what that look really is.
Rahim looks like he
can do anything."
[ Applause ]
Thank you.
So, you know, one of the
reasons that I mentioned I wanted
to write this story was, you
know, books are multipurpose tools
and one thing that they do
is they can impart knowledge
about another culture, about
another set of customs,
about another religion, about
another geographical area.
And we can travel with books and
that's what we do in these stories.
But I think there are also
really good ways to learn --
to use these books to
stimulate conversations
where children can start
to look inside too.
And so, for kids who are
picking up these books,
you know, our kids are smart.
They're smart readers and
they're able to grasp things
that we might not think
that they can.
But I've been talking to a lot of
young students, and they really have
that ability to perceive
themselves in stories,
to pick out from characters
what they relate to
and what they don't relate to.
And I think there's a
lot that they can learn
from a story that's more
of a mirror for them.
Where they start to look inside
and think about what kind
of a character they would want
to be in their own journeys.
And I know that's what I
did when I was a child,
reading under the covers
past my bed time.
And I hope that that's
what, you know,
kids will do with the
stories that I'm sharing.
And I think through
the conversations
that we've been having, that
is what we've been seeing.
So, I'm going to leave it there and
I'm going open it up to questions.
I think we have a few minutes
if I've timed this right.
We have about 10 minutes for
questions and I will take questions
on anything, and from all
ages, so kids feel to speak up.
Yes?
>> Speaker 1: Hi, so, I
read all of your novels.
I'm currently reading A
House Without Windows,
and my friend and our
buddy read them.
And it's just interesting to see
the tension between the women
from Afghanistan of old
versus in this book.
Because I find myself gasping.
Like, you can't think that
you can't do that, you know?
And I giggle every time I read one
of the recipes for
the -- is it jadu?
The little spell?
>> Nadia Hashimi: Yeah, yeah.
>> Speaker 1: How did
you come up with those?
It tickles me every time.
>> Nadia Hashimi: It's a --
so the question is actually
about my third adult novel,
which I get to plug right now
because she brought
it up, not me, right?
So, that's A House Without
Windows, which is a story
of a woman who's imprisoned
in Afghanistan for --
she's accused of murdering
her husband.
She meets other women who are in
prison for crimes of immorality.
It's a very loose and vague term.
And her -- the mother and that
character, is a very colorful woman
who is a skilled sorceress.
So, she practices jadu, sort of this
black magic that's in Afghanistan.
That was a fun thing for
me to be able to throw
in these little bits of culture.
And so, how did I come
up with all of that?
Well, I didn't have to come up with
it because, in my husband's family,
there is someone a generation back,
or two generations back actually,
who sort of dabbled in
this area of black magic.
And so, some of the
things that they --
the stories that are passed down
to us, the things that she did
like chopping up snake skins
and folding it into the spinach
and feeding it to her nemesis and
then watching her nemesis kind
of itch and crawl at the
next family gathering.
So, those are stories that have
been passed down in our family.
And there is sort of this
superstitious belief that threads
through Afghanistan, and then
some rare people are able to take
that into the realm of black magic.
And I thought that was such
a cool concept that I wanted
to incorporate it into the story.
So.
>>Speaker 1: It's awesome,
I love it.
>> Nadia Hashimi: Thank you.
>>Nadia Hashimi: Hi.
>> Speaker 2: Hi.
It's such a pleasure meeting
you, because we chose your book
for our book club and its coming
this Tuesday when the moon is low.
What I want to know though, you're
a doctor as well as a writer,
which of these professions
do you like?
Medicine or writing?
>> Nadia Hashimi: Yeah.
That's a very tough question.
So, I always compare it to
being invited to two parties
on a Saturday night and not
knowing which one you want to go to.
I think, you know, as a
doctor, you get to do so much.
You're -- and as, especially as
a pediatrician, you're involved
in a family's life at some
really poignant moments,
some really sensitive times, and you
can make a really big difference.
Even just by reassuring,
if nothing else.
I also really enjoy what
I'm able to do with books.
I'm able to reach, I think,
more people through my stories.
I'm able to reach people
across the world.
And, you know, when I get messages
from people that they were inspired
or touched or were able to gain,
you know, some kind of hope
for themselves through my fictional
characters, it's pretty humbling.
So, I think they're both incredible
fields and I everyday feel blessed
that I can do both
of them in some way.
>> Speaker 2: Thank you.
>> Nadia Hashimi: Thank you.
>>Speaker 3: This might
not be a fair question,
but what future do you
see for Afghanistan
and what are the implications
for women?
>> Nadia Hashimi: So, that's a
really great question is, you know,
and it's a very complicated one.
What is the future for
women in Afghanistan?
I think it's very easy to look at
the day-to-day events in Afghanistan
and see setbacks and
see disappointments,
because those things
happen all the time.
And not just for women
in Afghanistan,
but for the general population
and security in Afghanistan.
There are, you know, recent
attacks either specifically on women
or on the broader population when
you have more extremist elements
who still are making their
presence very much felt.
But when I take a step back and look
at what has happened in Afghanistan
between the time of the Taliban
-- during the time of the Taliban,
I mean, we all know that it
was just really terrible there.
And I've spoken with afghan
-- an afghan MP, actually,
a parliamentarian who said it
was the darkest time for women
in Afghanistan, not being able to
be really part of the world at all.
To go from that, to know that in
2014 there was a woman who ran
on the ticket for vice
presidency in Afghanistan,
to know there are female journalists
who are sharing the stories
of what's happening in Afghanistan
with their fellow countrymen.
To know that there are women who
are teachers, who are performers,
who are expanding their
role in the arts,
in the sciences and all fields.
They're working so hard to do that.
And yes, they're facing
a lot of backlash.
Yes, they have more obstacles than I
have had growing up in this country.
But I think that they are working
so hard to be their own heroes,
that I can't imagine them giving
up the fight at any point.
So, as long they have an environment
that at all opens the doors
for them, I think they're going
to continue to make progress.
>> Speaker 4: Hi.
>> Nadia Hashimi: Hi.
>> Speaker 4: What
sort of research went
into doing these types of books?
>> Nadia Hashimi: So, all
different kinds of research.
I -- luckily, I have my family to
turn to, and I have the rich stories
that come from both my family,
from my husband's family.
And then of course I
do research making sure
that if there are political events
that are happening at
certain key moments.
If I do, for example, in my
historical fiction aspect,
I go through and I use archived sort
of information that anthropologists
and others have put together
in the form of textbooks.
I use photographs a lot so that
I can paint a geographic picture
of the area that I'm talking about.
And I'm pretty diligent, so
even if I talk about, you know,
the trees that are in an area,
I make sure that I research
and know the species of trees that
are growing in one particular area,
because I do want to create an
authentic picture of that country.
So, the research is
actually a really fun part.
I -- for my recent adult book,
I was able to use a human rights
watch report on the situation,
who had interviewed women in
prison in Afghanistan and gone
through their arrest registries and,
you know, faced off with the women
to figure out what had happened
and collected their cases.
So, the research is an
incredible part of it.
Yeah.
>> Speaker 5: Hi.
>> Speaker 5: All right.
Well, hi. I had a quick question.
Well, not that quick maybe, but
what's one of your favorite moments
from The Pearl That Broke its Shell
and from When the Moon is Low?
>> Nadia Hashimi: Okay, from
The Pearl That Broke its Shell,
I think one of my favorite
moments come from one
of my favorite characters.
And it is -- and this will say
a lot about me personally, okay,
but there is a moment where
there is a wedding ceremony
and they have brought a religious
figure, this Mullad, to come
and officiate this and say a prayer.
And as he's going through, the
prayer of course is in Arabic,
and he stumbles and he messes up
a word in it because, you know,
Afghans don't speak Arabic,
but we learn the prayers
sort of by hearing them.
And nobody realizes
that he messes up,
except for this young girl's very
spunky aunt who's always there
and who's always in her corner.
And she points out, in
front of a room full
of people, that he screwed up.
And he repeats it and she's
like, "You screwed up again."
And she calls him on it.
And when she calls him
on it, she's showing him
that he really is not
an authentic voice.
He's not a spokesperson.
He is not an authority
for the religion.
That they own their religions
themselves and that he is not
above being fallible
and completely wrong.
And in that moment, I loved that
character and I wish I could do
that at all times, everywhere I go.
Thank you for the question.
>> Speaker 6: So, this is a kind of
more basic question, but what is one
of the favorite books
that you've written?
And --
>> Nadia Hashimi: I get that
question a lot, and it's a really,
really tough question, because
sometimes I feel like it's,
you know, of your children,
which one is your favorite?
I think I like them all in
sort of a different way.
This one of course right now
is sort of very near and dear
to me, because I like writing.
I like talking about women's issues
and girl's empowerment and all
of that stuff, and what it means
to be a global citizen really.
That's what we've been
talking about lately
for children of any
kind of identity.
And to be able to have this book and
have conversations with young people
who are really so smart, and who are
going to go on to do amazing things,
and if I can at least be one
conversation that happens
on your way to being amazing,
then that's an incredible
opportunity for me.
So, right now this book
is giving me a lot.
>> Speaker 7: I read One Half
from The East and I liked it.
Do you think you're going to
write anymore children's books?
>> Nadia Hashimi: I am.
So, I'm really glad to
hear that you liked it.
Thank you for reading
it and I'm working
on my second children's
book right now.
It should be out, we think
in the winter of 2018.
I'll be finishing it soon, but it
takes that long for a book to go
from something that I've
written, to an actual book
that you can hold in your hand.
Because there's so many people
that work to make it so.
But I really love writing
and it's my passion now
and so I don't think I'll stop.
So, I hope you keep reading.
>> Speaker 7: Thank you.
>> Speaker 8: Hi, I'm from Texas
and our book club has chosen your
Pearl novel for our next book.
I haven't read it yet, but I'd
like to let them know next
month how you got started,
having your first book
published, and how--
what, just simply what
the process was for you.
>> Nadia Hashimi: It was sort of
a very amazing process for me.
When I started writing,
I wrote for myself.
I wasn't sure what
would happen to it.
I didn't tell anybody
that I was writing
because you never know
what's going to happen,
what's going to come of it.
I didn't know anything about
the industry, so I sat down
and I Googled, "How do
you get a book published?"
And what Google told me was that
you have to get an agent first
and then an agent will submit it.
And so, I started writing early on
in -- actually when I was expecting.
And I had a deadline.
I need to finish this before
this baby comes into my world.
And I wanted it out to literary
agents submitted before the baby
came in.
And that's what I did.
And I was in labor when I got
a phone call from an agent
who wanted to represent my books.
So, I will never forget my
publishing process, because it was
such a memorable moment where
I couldn't answer the phone.
And my husband had to
give her a call and say,
"She's not really into
talking right now."
>> Speaker 9: Well, what's
your favorite author?
>> Nadia Hashimi: Who's
my favorite author?
Now that's a really,
really tough one,
because there are so
many authors, right?
And all these authors
are so different.
Some write really good mysteries.
Some just give us really smart
stories in a different way.
Some take us into history.
So, for me to pick my favorite
is really, really tough.
I will names a few.
I love [inaudible] and not just
because he gave a great
plug for my first book.
I think Jhumpa Lahiri is amazing.
Joyce Carol Oates, who I
actually was able to sit at with
at dinner last night
with Joyce Carol Oates.
She's amazing.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
And Judy Blume, who you might
recognize from some of that.
So, that's a handful,
but there's so many.
I learned something
from every single book.
>> Speaker 9: Thank you.
>> Nadia Hashimi: Thank you.
>> Speaker 10: Do you
plan to write any books
for the children in Afghanistan?
>> Nadia Hashimi: So, the question
is, "Do I plan to write books
for the children in Afghanistan?"
And I think, you know, every book
that I write, I write for everyone.
And I write, you know, not just
for children to read this book
in the United States or in Canada,
but I write it for a child anywhere.
And, you know, I write this
for children in Afghanistan
to see themselves as
strong, as capable,
as full of potential no matter
what clothes you're wearing.
No matter what your name is.
And I want that same message
to be conveyed to children
who are in this country too.
And in that way, I
think that, you know,
a story can really be
universal in at its core theme.
We should be able to find
something that we can relate to,
and I'm hoping that
this book will find ways
to relate to children everywhere.
>> Speaker 10: Thank you.
>> Nadia Hashimi: Thank you.
All right, thank you
so much for your time.
I appreciate you all attending.
Have a great festival.
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