‘A memoir that doubles as a warning. Zahra Joya writes for the women the world abandoned to the Taliban’s brutal gender apartheid – and refuses to let us forget them… [she] is one of the bravest journalists of our time’ Malala Yousafzai
‘Beautifully written and powerfully told. Joya’s story will leave you angry, but also awed that in this painful history there’s still profound hope. An impressive memoir of a truly inspiring individual’ Lyse Doucet, author of The Finest Hotel in Kabul
‘A brave and beautiful book which touches the soul, the heart and the mind’ Sandi Toksvig
‘This is an important book, and Joya an important voice. She has a poetic turn of phrase that brings beauty to an otherwise horrific tale’ Lucy Thynne, The Telegraph
‘Joya writes with great insight and compassion about Afghanistan’s girls and women. This book is a unique and compelling account of refusing to be silenced or erased. It is about extraordinary courage and refusing to submit to oppression. Above all it is about hope and optimism, and one woman’s fight for freedom’ Sir Laurie Bristow, Former British ambassador to Afghanistan
A powerful and poignant memoir about growing up female in Afghanistan, being betrayed by a world that promised to protect women’s rights and how these rights are under threat across the world.
When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, Zahra Joya disguised herself as a boy simply to attend school. After the US-led invasion, her world transformed. Education, opportunity and freedom flourished. Like many Afghans, Zahra dared to believe in a future. She became a journalist and established her own media company to tell the stories of Afghan women.
Then, in 2021, the Taliban returned. Decades of hard-won progress vanished overnight. Women were erased from public life once again, and the promises made by the West collapsed into silence.
The Vanishing Girl of Kabul is Zahra’s powerful story of betrayal, survival and resistance. Co-written with award-winning journalist, Amie Ferris-Rotman, a longtime friend of both Zahra and Afghanistan, this book blends the intimacy of memoir with the urgency of investigative reporting, exposing the brutal realities of gender-based oppression – not only in Afghanistan, but around the world.
Now living in exile in London, Zahra refuses to be silent. This book is her clarion call, a warning to a world too willing to look away.
‘Beautifully written and powerfully told. Joya’s story will leave you angry, but also awed that in this painful history there’s still profound hope. An impressive memoir of a truly inspiring individual’ Lyse Doucet, author of The Finest Hotel in Kabul
‘A brave and beautiful book which touches the soul, the heart and the mind’ Sandi Toksvig
‘This is an important book, and Joya an important voice. She has a poetic turn of phrase that brings beauty to an otherwise horrific tale’ Lucy Thynne, The Telegraph
‘Joya writes with great insight and compassion about Afghanistan’s girls and women. This book is a unique and compelling account of refusing to be silenced or erased. It is about extraordinary courage and refusing to submit to oppression. Above all it is about hope and optimism, and one woman’s fight for freedom’ Sir Laurie Bristow, Former British ambassador to Afghanistan
A powerful and poignant memoir about growing up female in Afghanistan, being betrayed by a world that promised to protect women’s rights and how these rights are under threat across the world.
When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, Zahra Joya disguised herself as a boy simply to attend school. After the US-led invasion, her world transformed. Education, opportunity and freedom flourished. Like many Afghans, Zahra dared to believe in a future. She became a journalist and established her own media company to tell the stories of Afghan women.
Then, in 2021, the Taliban returned. Decades of hard-won progress vanished overnight. Women were erased from public life once again, and the promises made by the West collapsed into silence.
The Vanishing Girl of Kabul is Zahra’s powerful story of betrayal, survival and resistance. Co-written with award-winning journalist, Amie Ferris-Rotman, a longtime friend of both Zahra and Afghanistan, this book blends the intimacy of memoir with the urgency of investigative reporting, exposing the brutal realities of gender-based oppression – not only in Afghanistan, but around the world.
Now living in exile in London, Zahra refuses to be silent. This book is her clarion call, a warning to a world too willing to look away.
Reviews
A memoir that doubles as a warning. Zahra Joya writes for the women the world abandoned to the Taliban's brutal gender apartheid - and refuses to let us forget them. [She] is one of the bravest journalists of our time.
There is something truly extraordinary about this book. Zahra Joya is such a courageous and inspiring woman and her story is totally gripping.
Zahra's laser focus on the implications of Taliban rule on women and girls hammers home the colossal impact of gender-based oppression.
The Vanishing Girl of Kabul is a mirror not just for Joya's life, but for millions of other Afghan women and girls.
This is an important book, and Joya an important voice. She has a poetic turn of phrase that brings beauty to an otherwise horrific tale
In The Vanishing Girl of Kabul Zahra Joya writes with great insight and compassion about Afghanistan's girls and women. This book is a unique and compelling account of refusing to be silenced or erased. It is about extraordinary courage and refusing to submit to oppression. Above all it is about hope and optimism, and one woman's fight for freedom
A brave and beautiful book which touches the soul, the heart and the mind
Thankfully, The Vanishing Girl Of Kabul never descends into trauma porn. No country is wholly 'good' or 'bad', and Zahra's story isn't written with the cloying sentimentality of other refugee memoirs, where hurdles and trauma have been overcome. For Zahra, there is still work to be done. Although she is the thread of this story, she is part of a much bigger picture, where there can be no epilogue until women and girls, in Afghanistan and around the world, get the rights that they deserve.
The Vanishing Girl of Kabul channels Afghanistan's painful history through Joya's remarkable story
Beautifully written and powerfully told. Joya's story will leave you angry, but also awed that in this painful history there's still profound hope. An impressive memoir of a truly inspiring individual
This brilliant book is a long overdue corrective: Joya is the compelling and incisive narrator of her own life story... A memoir informed by history, tenacity and sharp journalistic insight.