The
Breadwinner
By Deborah Ellis
This book is about an 11 year old girl, Parvana who
lived in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Taliban, the extremist group who use the name of Islam to oppress people ruled
her country. She lived in one bedroom apartment with her parents, baby brother,
and 2 sisters. Her entire city showed signs of destruction and devastation. Her
father, the only breadwinner of the family, was a history teacher. He lost his
leg in a bomb explosion and could not teach any more. All he could do was sit
on the roadside and read or write letters for people who were not literate.
Things got even worst for Parvana’s when her dad got arrested, his only crime
was knowing a foreign language. Parvana had to step up and earn some money to
support her family. Since The Taliban did not allow women to slip out of their
homes, allowing them to work was out of question. Parvana decided to dress up
as a boy to avoid the Taliban’s attention and become the breadwinner of her household. Will
Parvana be able to earn a livelihood for her family? Will she ever be able to
escape from the Taliban’s oppression and live a free life? Will she be able to
do something to get father out of jail? I will not spoil the ending for you J
I enjoyed reading this book a lot. Throughout this
book I felt sadness in my heart for all those girls who actually have to live
under the oppression of Taliban. They are not allowed to go to school and are
forced to do what they do not want to, like wearing a burqa ( a full body
cover). No one deserves the kind of life Parvana had to live. While reading
this book, I felt gratitude for the free life I live. I get to make choices as
to what to wear, I get to choose my activities, I will get to choose my career,
all of these are blessings that I am truly grateful for.
I hope one day Kabul is a free city and that girls get
to school and have respect in the society. Hopefully you will want to read this
book and discover how this young girl Parvana changes the course of her life.
Parvana is a symbol of hope, courage and perseverance. Many thanks to the
author Debborah Ellis for writing this book and bringing awareness about issues
in Afghanistan to the young American audience.
