Writing began for me as an escape from my burqa, an escape from my most painful moments. – Pari

The Blood of Afghans Cry and Mourn

Some nations have airplanes
Birds and other skyward creatures
But Afghans live with blood flying
Through clouds and countryside

A short documentary about AWWP in Kabul
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Welcome to the Afghan Women's Writing Project

 

Since 2009, AWWP has helped hundreds of Afghan women and girls tell their stories.

 

 

Afghan Writers Praise AWWP
Click to hear recordings in Dari

Latest Stories & Essays

I Prepare to Die as the Taliban Attacks AUAF

I Prepare to Die as the Taliban Attacks AUAF

Wednesday 24th of August, 2016. The fourth day of my second semester. My last class finished at 6:20 p.m. I expected to meet a friend, but she did not come so I finished my dinner and went to the mosque to pray. At 7:04 p.m., I had just finished praying when three explosions went off two meters (6.5 feet) from the mosque. The air turned dark, the ceiling fell upon us. It was hard to breathe. Seconds later, gunshots began. I could not believe what seemed clear: the American University of Afghanistan was under attack.

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One Floor from My Sister, Waiting to Die

One Floor from My Sister, Waiting to Die

The 24th of August was the third day of my second semester at AUAF. I had started with so many hopes. I was in statistics class on the second floor of the Bayat Building, listening carefully to the lecture, when we heard gunfire close to campus. Growing up in Afghanistan, we think of gunfire as routine. Our professor continued his lecture. Seconds later, an ear-blasting bomb shook the building and shattered the window glass. The campus was under attack.

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Latest Poems

Latest AWWP News

What Is AWWP?

Founded in 2009 by Masha Hamilton, AWWP supports women’s human right to tell their own stories.

Watch AWWP in Action

View videos of AWWP in action in Afghanistan and the USA. Hear recordings of work read in Dari.

 

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Purchase our two anthologies. Download for free our Love and Forgiveness curriculum.