1. Before the Wars: Memories of Childhood in the Pre-Soviet Era

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments xi
4. Introduction 1
5. PART 1. The Way We Were; The Way We’re Seen
6. 1. Before the Wars: Memories of Childhood in the Pre-Soviet Era 37
7. 2. Narratives of Afghan Childhood: Risk, Resilience, and the Experiences That Shape the Development of Afghanistan as a People and a Nation 51
8. 3. Jumping Rope in Prison: The Representation of Afghan Children in Film 69
9. PART 2. Ties That Bind: The Family in Rebound
10. 4. Love, Fear, and Discipline in Afghan Families 81
11. 5. Children Who Live with Their Mothers in Prison 96
12. 6. Little Brides and Bridegrooms: Systemic Failure, Cultural Response 112
13. PART 3. Survival by Any Means Possible
14. 7. Confronting Child Labor 127
15. 8. The Parakeet Boys: Performing Education in the Streets of Kabul 143
16. 9. Child Soldiering in Afghanistan 153
17. 10. Legal Protection: Offering Aid and Comfort 170
18. PART 4. To Be Whole in Mind and Body
19. 11. Children’s Health: The Challenge of Survival 187
20. 12. Food Security and Nutrition for Afghan Children 198
21. 13. Desperately Seeking Harun: Children with Disabilities 212
22. 14. “Life Feeds on Hope”: Family Mental Health, Culture, and Resilience 226
23. PART 5. Education: Nurturing the Future
24. 15. Education in Transition: A Key Concern for Young Afghan Returnees 241
25. 16. Primary and Secondary Education: Exponential Growth and Prospects for the Future 255
26. 17. Music and Literacy: A New Approach to Education 269
27. PART 6. Communicating Empowerment
28. 18. “Thanks God for the Twitter and the Facebook! Thanks God for That!” 285
29. 19. The New Storytellers of Afghanistan 298
30. 20. Six Epiphanies: Testament to Change from Inside an Afghan Orphanage 311
31. Epilogue: Imagining the Future 323
32. Selected Bibliography and Filmography 337
33. About the Contributors 343
34. Index 353