Play Book Tag discussion

Rahima is the middle daughter of 5 born to a family in 2007 Afghanistan. Her father has become addicted to 'medicine' (opium), leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves. Since females were not allowed to go anywhere alone, Rahima became a 'bacha posh', a tradition in which a girl is raised as a boy until marriage. She loved the freedom this practice gave her but it soon ended when her father, desperate for money, arranged lucrative marriages for his three oldest daughters. Although Rahima was only 13, she was wed to a powerful warlord and taken to his home where she became the 4th wife. Desperately lonely, Rahima was buoyed by periodic visits from her beloved aunt who regaled her with stories of her great-great-grandmother Shekiba who had also lived as a man for part of her life. The story is shared by the two timelines and the determination of these two women to make their lives matter.

This is such an interesting story but it is so sad at times. The abuse these women faced is tragic. Although they both turn out to be amazingly strong characters, what they went through to get there is difficult to read.