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Homeira Qaderi (
Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...
: حمیرا قادری, also spelled Homeira Qadari) born in 1980 is an
Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
writer, advocate for women's rights, and professor of Persian literature, currently serving as a Robert G. James Scholar Fellow at Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Research,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
.


Early life and education

She was born in
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
, Afghanistan, during the Russian occupation to an artist mother and a high school teacher father. Qaderi's early childhood was spent first sheltering from the stray bullets of the invading Soviet army and then from the civil war following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. After the Taliban took control of the country, girls were prohibited from attending school. Qaderi, then only 13, secretly organized basic literacy classes for her neighborhood girls and later for the children in the nearby refugee camp and taught them for four years. She also attended the Golden Needle Sewing School, a clandestine circle where she and other young girls pursued their education concentrating on literary writing skills under the supervision of Ustad Moahmmad Naser Rahyab. As a young adolescent, she published a short story, which was met with a strong rebuke from the Taliban. In 2001 Homeira went to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and pursued her disrupted education. She earned a bachelor's degree in
Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
from Shaheed Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran, in 2005, and a master's degree in literature from Allame Tabatabai University in Tehran in 2007. Qaderi was a doctoral candidate at Tehran University when the 2008 Iranian uprisings took place. She joined political rallies protesting the Iranian government's suppression of basic human rights. As a foreign national, she was prohibited from participating in anti-government protests. Consequently, Homeira Qaderi was expelled from Iran without giving her a chance to complete her doctorate studies. She later received a Ph.D. in Persian literature from
Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
in New Delhi, India, in 2014. Her doctoral dissertation was titled "Reflections of War and Emigration in Stories and Novels of Afghanistan". In 2015, she completed the
International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the I ...
at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
in the US.


Career

During her stay in Iran, Qaderi was the director of the Afghanistan Arts and Cultural Association in Iran, a position she held until 2008. After her return to Afghanistan, Qaderi began teaching as an assistant professor at
Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...
. Because of the demand for her literary skills and professional expertise in Persian literature, she also lectured at Mash'al University and
Gharjistan University Gharjistan University () is a private university, located in Pul-e-Sorkh, Kabul, Afghanistan established in 2010. Faculties * Economics and management * Law and political science * Computer science * Social science See also *List of universitie ...
in Kabul. At the same time, she actively participated in civic rights movements focusing on gender equality in Afghanistan. In 2011, Qaderi became an advisor to the Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs Affairs, and the Disabled in Afghanistan. She focused her efforts on improving the living conditions of widows and orphans and established training programs for their self sufficiency. In 2018, she also served as the editor-in-chief for ''Rah-e Madanyat Daily''. Qaderi was appointed senior advisor to the
Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
in 2019 and remained in that post until the spring of 2021. She is presently editor-in-chief of ''Ravi-e Zan'' and she is the founder of the Golden Needle Literary Association where she is training young women writers to become assertive in expressing themselves. After the
2021 fall of Kabul On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after 2021 Taliban offensive, a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghan ...
, Qaderi left Afghanistan and moved to the United States where she became a Robert G. James Scholar Fellow at Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Research,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, writing on the experiences of young women under Taliban rule. In the aftermath of the fall of Kabul, Qaderi spoke out publicly about the dire situation in Afghanistan and the urgent need for the international community to support Afghan refugees and voicing her concerns about the rights of women and girls. She continues to be an advocate for human rights, women's rights, and for peace in Afghanistan.


Literary work

Qaderi has published numerous articles, essays, short stories, and novels in both Persian and English, and her work has been translated into several languages. In 2003, three of Qaderi's stories, including ''Zair-e Gonbad-e Kabood'', were published in Herat, Afghanistan. She was the only Afghan woman writer published in Afghanistan that year. In the same year, Qaderi received the Sadegh Hedayat Award in Iran for her short story titled, ''Baz Baaran Agar Mibarid,'' ‘If It Will Rain Again.' This was the first time ever that such a prestigious was award given to an Afghan national in Iran. Some of her other published works include ''Goshwara-e Anis'', (2005), and well-known novels like ''Iqlema'' (2014), ''Naqsh-e Shekar-e Aho'' (2012), and her acclaimed novel ''Noqra: The Daughter of Kabul River'' (Rozgar Publishers, 2009). Her memoir, ''Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son'', was published by Harper Collins in 2020 and 2021 and translated into several languages including French, Italian, German, and Finnish. The book is written as a letter to Homeira's son, explaining the challenges she faced growing up in Afghanistan and the hard decision she had to make—in her divorce. Qaderi writes candidly about her childhood, marriage, and the challenges she faced as a woman and a writer in a society that often oppresses both. The book received critical acclaim and was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020. It was also longlisted for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and chosen by ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'' as one of the best nonfiction books of 2020.


Advocacy and awards

Qaderi has been recognized for her work as a civil society activist for women and children's affairs in Afghanistan and has participated in several international conferences, advocating for human rights. She took part in The Second Bonn International Conference on Afghanistan in December 2011, in Germany, speaking before the general assembly about the plight of Afghan women and their struggle for equal rights. In 2012, she attended The Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan, where over 100 countries were represented; as part of the Afghan delegation, she requested that other countries should assist the Afghan Government and support Afghan women. In 2014, Qaderi was a panelist at the International Labor Organization Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where she advocated for the improvement of working conditions for women in Afghanistan. Qaderi's activism and contributions to Afghan literature, culture, and society have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Sadegh Hedayat Award (2003), the Malalai Medal for Exceptional Bravery by the President of Afghanistan
Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan former politician and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was 2021 Taliban offensive, overthrown by the Ta ...
(2018), and the Hellman/Hammett Grant from
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
(2019). Qaderi has been featured in several media outlets, including ''The New York Times'', BBC, and NPR, ''Time'' magazine and ''People'' magazine where she has shared her insights and experiences as a writer, scholar, and activist. She has also been the subject of several documentaries, including ''The Afghan Women's Odyssey'' (2012), and ''The Women of Kabul'' (2014), and was the inspiration for ''The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan'' (2023) by
Mitchell Zuckoff Mitchell S. Zuckoff is an American professor of communications at Boston University. His books include '' Lost in Shangri-La'' and '' 13 Hours'' (2014). Education Zuckoff received a bachelor's degree from the University of Rhode Island and ...
.


Selected works

* ''Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son'' (2020) *''Aqlema'', a novel (2015) *''Reflection of War and Exile in Stories of Afghanistan'' (2015) *''Naqsh-e Shekaar-e Aho'', a novel *''Painting of A Deer Hunt – A Fable of Women and Men'' (2010) *''Silver Kabul River Girl'', a novel (2009) *''Noqra'', a novel (2009) *''100 Years of Story Writing in Afghanistan'' (2009) *''Goshwara-e- Anis, Anish's Earring'', a collection of short stories (2008) *''Noqre, the girl of Kabul river'', a novel (2008)


See also

* List of Afghan women writers


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaderi, Homeira 1979 births Living people Afghan novelists Afghan women novelists Afghan women's rights activists International Writing Program alumni Academic staff of Kabul University 21st-century Afghan writers 21st-century Afghan women writers Afghan memoirists Afghan women memoirists