Kabul Girls Soccer Club: A Dream, Eight Girls, and a Journey Home

(Paperback)

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In 1979, Awista Ayub fled her birthplace of Kabul with her family and escaped to the United States. Since then, Awista has been determined to make a difference for girls still living in Afghanistan. She honed in on her love for football and set the wheels for life-changing events in motion by forming the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE). For this book, Awista travelled back to Afghanistan to visit the original six young women she introduced to football to tell their stories in a timely, heartfelt and truly moving narrative.

Reviews

"The young Afghan women in However Tall the Mountain are pioneers. Their story is one of resilience and courage. This book is a testament to the power of hope and the will to dream in a country where so many dreams have been cut short."--Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
"Awista Ayub has movingly captured the indomitable spirit of Afghan women in this chronicle of brave girls who risked persecution and worse to pursue the dreams of ordinary childhood. In doing what they love most in life--playing soccer--the girls become emblems of the fight for equality and human rights under the Taliban. Their story reminds us that there is always hope and possibility for a brighter future--even in the wreckage left by war and conflict."--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Author Bio

Awista Ayub was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and escaped with her family to Connecticut at 2 years old. Following 9/11, she founded the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange as a means of introducing soccer to the young women of Aghanistan, both on US and Afghan soil. Today, she serves as director of the AYSE and lives in Washington, DC.