The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, OneRemarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
For a long time I tended to see the world through
the lens of my life in the United States. I grew up in a safe home with
electricity, clean well water from indoor plumbing, a warm bed and wonderful
meals prepared by loving hands. We even had a colored television.
When I went through college classes that opened my
eyes to situations in other countries as well as some in the USA, I realized
the plight that many live with. The destruction, poverty and war that tore
apart countries was devastating. What saddened me even more was the injustice
given to women. We are blessed in the US to have the opportunity to gain an
education, work in the field we want, raise our children as we want and worship
where we want. Many women are seen as nothing more than a possession. They
cannot think for themselves or contribute to their communities.
Ms. Lemmon tells the story of a group of women who
conquered fear and created a network for survival. When the Taliban seized the
city of Kabul, five sisters lost their opportunity to attend college. They were
forced to take backward steps and huddle in their homes, afraid to show their
faces in public. But, this is more than a story about a family living through war.
These women rose above fear and fought back to keep their home and loved ones
safe, while they combined their abilities to create a successful business.
Through their work, they reached out to neighbors and taught skills, even as
bombs blew and missiles hurtled.
Led by Kamila Sidiqi, one of the sisters, they
found a way to use sewing skills and sheer determination to not only come out
of the war alive, but to draw the women of the community together. I found
their story both inspirational and encouraging.
