Jenny Nordberg’s The Underground Girls of Kabul — In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan covers new ground for many of us. Nordberg, a Swedish author now based in New York, was interviewing a woman politician in Afghanistan when she more or less stumbled upon the practice of bacha posh. Bacha posh is the practice of raising girls as boys during all or part of their childhood. Nordberg was so surprised about the existence of this practice, that she started to investigate.

Even getting women to speak with her through her interpreters was a major challenge, but gradually Nordberg learned that bacha posh wasn’t particularly unusual or disfavored in male-dominated societies where having a boy in the family was considered absolutely crucial. The Underground Girls of Kabul explores these reasons but it also devotes considerable attention to the girls who were or are being raised as boys. As children, most of the girls seemed pretty happy about it because of the freedom and status they gained as boys. Switching back to being a female around the time of puberty was often more problematic, and Nordberg talk to some very unhappy and defiant women who rebelled against the notion of going back to being female.

All of this makes for a very interesting book that has a reach far behind the individual stories of the individuals who are interviewed. I recommend it.