My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird

My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird showcases the rich literary history of Afghanistan. However, chronic instability and the current crisis have kept women's voices hidden. This anthology results from over two years of work with Afghan women writers. They have strong, original, and unexpected stories to tell, but until now, they have had no opportunity to publish locally or beyond their borders. Unfortunately, this opportunity seems at risk of being taken again.

“Men always want to speak on behalf of Afghan women, but now it is time for Afghan women to speak for themselves. Without fear, we want to share our stories with the world.”

UNTOLD has supported these writers in developing their work and writing the stories they want to write in their own words. These exciting contemporary voices from Afghanistan's two main linguistic groups (Pashto and Dari) explore a wide range of issues—family, work, tradition, sexuality, friendship, gender identity, and real-life events—through original, vibrant, and tonally varied short fiction.

These stories come at a pivotal moment in Afghanistan's history when international media interest needs to be met by creative voices living in, speaking about, and writing from Afghanistan.

With an Introduction by BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet and an Afterword by Lucy Hannah

UNTOLD is a writer development programme for marginalised writers in areas of conflict and post-conflict. Afghanistan hosts millions of Pashto and Dari speakers with little or no local support for creative writing, literary translation, or literary editing. Support for writers has been hindered by cultural norms, free expression issues, chronic instability, and internal displacement. UNTOLD has been working one-to-one with women on their short stories, pairing them with English-speaking literary editors and translators to realise their stories' potential for publication both locally and globally in translation.