The Bookseller of Kabul is the best-selling non-fiction
book written by Åsne Seierstad, first published in 2002. Seierstad went to Afghanistan two weeks after
the September 11th attacks, where she met Sultan Kahn, the titular
character in her account of modern Afghan life.
Kahn was a wealthy Afghani man who had been persecuted for years by the
Taliban and other regimes for his refusal to give up his profession of selling
and publishing books. Kahn intrigued
Seierstad because of his love of art and literature and his fairly liberal
views on women and politics. After
having dinner at with Kahn and his family, Seierstad got the idea to write a
book about them and was enthusiastically welcomed to their home for several
weeks. Seierstad had to rely on three
members of the family to interpret for her: Kahn, his son Mansur, and his
sister Leila, each providing a completely different viewpoint.
Seierstad’s
intention was to write an honest portrayal of an Afghan family, even though
they are far from the average family.
Several of Kahn’s relatives, even the women, were able to read and
write, and the family as a whole had more means than a typical Afghan family. But Seierstad soon found that in many ways
that Kahn and the male relatives in his family were not as open-minded as they
asserted, especially when it came to their treatment of women: “The belief in
male superiority was so ingrained that it was seldom questioned” (Seierstad,
xiv). Throughout the book are
descriptions of life in Afghanistan amidst social and political upheaval. The Taliban had been removed from power but
religious fundamentalists still kept many in fear of returning to their lives
before Taliban rule, and many more do not remember a time before it. The United States and other western nations
have taken over and attempt reform in a country that distrusts outsiders.
Kahn is
preoccupied with his business throughout most of the book and is the undisputed
head of the family. His sons all work
for him in his various stores, instead of starting or continuing their
education. His female relatives are not
forbidden from working outside the home, but their attempts to get employment
are thwarted by the males in the family.
Everyone must obey his commands:
“When they live in my house, they should respect me,
shouldn’t they? If the families don’t
have rules, how can we form a society that respects rules and laws, and not
just guns and rockets? This is a society
in chaos; it is a lawless society, right out of civil war. If the families are not guided by authority,
we can expect an even worse chaos to follow.” (286)
This
was the explanation given for throwing out his mother, brother, and two sisters
after an argument that occurred not long after Seierstad left. As the oldest male in the large family,
culture gives Kahn every right to treat his family as he pleases, which often
involves ostracizing non-complying family members.
The family
is composed of Kahn, his two wives and their children, his mother, brother, and
unmarried sisters. They all live a small
apartment with four rooms, three for the twelve family members and one for
storage. Kahn’s youngest sister Leila
does most of the chores and is the scapegoat for the family. Her part in the book was one of the most
heartbreaking. Leila spoke impeccable
English but was prevented time and again from getting a post as a teacher in
the newly reopened schools and is finally promised in marriage to a man she
despises. Mansur, Kahn’s eldest son, is
shown as a fairly selfish young man.
When he discovers that a man he has called his friend has been raping
widows and young girls, he does not alert authorities, he instead worries about
his own soul and embarks on a pilgrimage.
Even after his “spiritual awakening” he reverts to his characteristic
behavior of abuse towards his aunt Leila and anyone else he is superior
to. Seierstad describes marriage
negotiations, weddings, travels, daily routines, and gossip that she observes
during her stay, most of it focused on the repression of women in Afghan
society.
This
book is non-fiction but it is presented in a narrative format, so aside from
the preface there are no overt opinions expressed. However, it is clear from Seierstad’s
descriptions that she is deeply disturbed by some events. One of these is the story of Jamila, who had
an extramarital affair and was “honor killed” by her brothers. It is therefore easy to infer that she feels
the inequality between women and men in Afghan society is a pressing social
problem. She puts forth the stories of
the various women in their own words, including how they feel about their life
in the family and in society. Some, like
Kahn’s sister Shakila, long to return to life before the Taliban, when they
held jobs or were in school. Shakila is
lucky in this respect; her husband allows her to work as a teacher part
time.
All the
women interviewed want to get rid of the burka.
This covering was required for women under Taliban rule but is still
commonly worn because male attitudes have not changed much since they were
overthrown. In one scene the women lift
their burkas on the street to breath a little.
They are quickly confronted by a man telling them “cover up, girls, I’m
burning” (171) and they comply when he comes back towards them. It is still not safe to deviate far from the
previous regimes laws; nail polish is one of the few safe ways to show off
personality.
Throughout
the book Seierstad shows the domination of the Afghan culture by men and
fundamentalists. Women’s associations
were formed during and after Taliban rule but had little luck in effecting
change. Schools for girls are still
understaffed and underfunded, demonstrations were stopped, and female influence
in government was almost nonexistent.
Seierstad gives a little historical background that demonstrates
Afghanistan’s culture before the civil war brought about Islamic law to the
country. The burka was made illegal for
civil servants in 1961, and was rather antiquated before then. Afghanistan in the 1970’s was fairly modern,
with a growing tourist trade and women in the workforce. Even at the time the book was written there
were deviations from fundamentalist rule—there are sections of southern
Afghanistan where homosexuality is common and tribal groups where women are not
subject to sharia law. This demonstrates
that the prejudice against women in modern Afghanistan is not just cultural and
that it could eventually be eradicated.
From an
American perspective, it is difficult to find a weakness with Seierstad’s
perspective. There is no suitable reason
that women should be dominated as much as they are in Afghanistan and other
countries, but this does not prevent people from trying to find justification
for gender inequality. However, there
was no systematic discussion of the issue from both sides. The narrative nature of the book prevented
the issue from being blatantly discussed and the men that were interviewed
never presented a reason for their treatment of women, they ordered them
around. In fact, Kahn has sued Seierstad
more than once for distorting him and his family in the book. He feels that she “willfully misinterpreted
almost everything she witnessed, failing to take into account deep-seated
social customs and the traditional roles of men and women in Afghan society”
(King). Kahn even wrote a rebuttal to
Seierstad’s book called Once Upon a Time
There was a Bookseller in Kabul.
In this
respect the author missed an opportunity; there is no real argument about
gender inequality, just the demonstration of it. This was probably intentional on Seierstad’s
part; she is a journalist who tried to paint an unbiased picture of Afghan
life, not a scathing account of sexism in the culture, even if many view it
that way.
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