"We were tired of war: ten years of Soviet invasion, four years of conflict between Mujahideen factions, years of anarchy of which the warlords, local mafia, and tyrants took advantage. Six years of Taliban rule, and then the American bombs" (84).

Putting all of Afghanistan's recent conflicts into one sentence really opened my eyes to how tough it must be to live as a common citizen in that country. I can't imagine the sort of suffering thousands, if not millions, have had to endure, and this is only since the 1980s!

Soviet soldiers after an attack on a camel caravan.

"Could women vote? They had had the right since 1963 but had never had the opportunity to exercise it" (85).

I find it miraculous that even though women could legally vote in Afghanistan since 1963, the cultural traditions of the country has kept them from doing so for over four decades.

This image was shocking when I first saw it; even though Afghan women are allowed (and able) to vote now, they still do so from behind face-concealing burqas.

"On the way back, I realized that the ink had faded; therefore, any fraud was possible. The blue of the democracy, of our first vote, had not held. A bad omen" (89).

I find it interesting how the Afghan language didn't have a word that meant democracy before it was introduced for Westerners. While Ukmina notes that the Afghan word, amakrasi, essentially means "anyone can do anything, and, by extension, it also meant the emancipation of women," here is how amakrasi can also be manipulated by those with power. How sad to work so hard for something, only to see it collapse.

An Afghan voting registration building. The article from which this was taken describes how easy it is to commit voting fraud in Afghanistan: http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-vote-fraud-made-easy/25316030.html

"For three months, I prepared. To make the Hadj, you must be in good physical and spiritual condition" (98).

A pilgrimage!

"I wondered what I would do when I went to Allah. Would I go dressed in three pieces of cloth s a man, or in five pieces of cloth as a woman, including one for the head? Was I going to go bound as a man, or free as a woman" (100).

I'm not very religious, so it's difficult for me to imagine what such a dilemma would be like, but I'm sure that having an identity crisis right beneath one's god's watchful gaze would include some sort of moral panic. A lot of it. It's painful just thinking about it...

The red pill, or the blue pill? Go to Mecca as a man, or as a woman?

"Yet I was not afraid. I rolled the little balls of my prayer beads between my fingers...." (102).

Prayer beads!

"I understood that I may have disturbed them. Not only was I dressed as a man, but I behaved like one, as well. I talked with great strength, I had a laugh that could knock you off your feet, and, when I sat down, I did not sit like a delicate woman....I ate like four men; I belched to ease with digestion" (110).

This sentence made me realize that I've never really met a woman who identifies as a man. I feel like with Caitlyn Jenner's dramatics taking up the airwaves these days, the other side of gender identification is unfairly left out.

You're not the only one, Caitlyn.

"...widows came begging with their children saying that they did not know what to do" (112).

This quote made me sad because it low-key illustrates how dependent women have been made to be on men in Afghan society. Without a husband, a woman literally has nowhere to turn for help, especially if she has children.

According to the organization I took this photo from (HEME Fund), there are 50,000 Afghan widows living in Kabul alone. Many are starving and have resorted to begging to get by. 65% of these women believe suicide to be the only way to be rid of their pain and suffering.

"The money was there, but it disappeared in the vast network of corruption that had materialized as the dollars rushed in" (131).

Over the past year and especially with the upcoming election looming, I have really become wary about just how legitimate many governments are worldwide. With the Panama Papers just released, I'm shocked to see just how rampant fraud runs in every circle where money is involved. I think that this is especially saddening when the money that bigwigs are stuffing their pockets with is supposed to be going toward relief efforts in underdeveloped countries.

When Haiti was hit by an earthquake six years ago, charities and relief efforts flocked to help. I recently learned that today, those efforts were essentially all for naught. The country still looks like this in many places.