Dear friends, Join us for an inspiring conversation with internationally best-selling Afghan-American author and pediatrician @NadiaHashimi . Moderated by author @Sarah_Rhymes , we will explore Nadia’s powerful stories of Afghan history and female resilience while raising vital funds to support Afghan women and girls. Our fireside chat will shine a light on Nadia’s latest novel, City of Widows, and the realities facing girls and women in Afghanistan today. We look forward to hearing Nadia’s personal insights and to fostering meaningful conversations about empowering Afghan girls. All funds raised will be donated to Safe Path Prosperity to purchase reusable sanitary aid kits for Afghan women and girls. Donation link safepathprosperity.org/fundr… The Zoom link to the event will be provided upon donation confirmation, emailed to [email protected] @GonnetSara2940 @ZalaAhmad

Been following her work , she’s amazing ❤️🎉

I’ve fundraised for and delivered aid to Afghan women way more qualified than me - better educated, who had jobs I would never qualify for. That is the reality of Afghanistan. Do not be fooled by the sea of blue and black burqas you see - there are women like you and me behind them who have had their livelihoods and futures taken away from them.

I’m going to start this post with @sadiekaye ‘s last lines in this amazing feature for Sai Kung Buzz - “Solidarity isn’t a slogan. It can be found in the deliberate, everyday choices we make. The women of Afghanistan are refusing to be silenced—and the least we can do is ensure their voices are heard and shared.” For the last five years, that has been my attempt - to highlight and bring to the forefront as many Afghan women’s voices I can. And yes, in many ways this started even before the T’s takeover - not that @NadiaHashimi needs any help getting her voice out - she is a world famous author with a massive readership 😊- but that will never stop me from talking about her books. When it comes to the other Afghan women and girls I have had the privilege of knowing - all in the last five years - watching their hopes and dreams collapse - watching them being plunged into a bizarre, twisted, dystopian world - feeling absolutely helpless about their situation - I have kept myself sane knowing this - They aren’t giving up, so we better not. The one thing any of us can do - the simplest thing that costs nothing - Get their voices out into the world more, make this gender apartheid a topic of conversation in places so it becomes as relevant as it needs to be. Thank you so much, Sadie Kaye for your solidarity and support. Thank you for taking my story further, and along with it every Afghan woman’s story that is linked to mine (and not). And I get to share space with my favourite author in an article featured in a Hong Kong newspaper - this I couldn’t have imagined happening ever. Thank you for listing the organisations doing critical and important work in Afghanistan- Hope Kindness Afghanistan 🇦🇫 @SaharEducation Safe Path Prosperity Folks- give them a follow. Share about their work. If you can donate, please do. Read Afghan authors, create space for Afghan women’s written and artistic work in your magazines and journals. And I’m always here for a conversation if you want to learn more about how you can help. Article is on the @hk_buzz website.

@OnSpecStories ‘s latest newsletter features a young Afghan writer from Herat, the same city that On Spec’s co-founder, award winning journalist @faribanawa is from. Marwa Karimi, writer and designer, shares her experiences, and of those she knows, “from the frontline of the war on girls and women in Afghanistan.” Marwa’s short story, Dignity in the Pit of Humiliation, was published in the @usawamag Afghan issue last year. More recently, her story, When Nooria Became Noor Ahmad, was published by @HooghlyReview I’m sharing the link of the newsletter here - onspecpodcast.substack.com/p… Please follow On Spec Podcast on Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. On Spec Podcast is an independently produced, long-form documentary and investigative journalism podcast. I had the privilege of interviewing Fariba Nawa earlier this year. Her book, Opium Nation is still one of the most highly recommended books to read about Afghanistan. On Spec’s last season was an 18 month investigation, titled, ‘Lethal Dissent: Iran’s hunt for its citizens abroad.’ Listen to it - it’s eye opening and shocking, and makes you really think about how relevant independent journalism is in today’s world - how many stories would stay buried- how much truth would never see the light of day if it wasn’t for journalists like Fariba Nawa and others in her team.

Thank you, thank you, thank you @HooghlyReview for this. ❤️ I’m absolutely thrilled. I wish this poem wasn’t always such a timely one. This last week I’ve watched Delhi university students - girls out on the streets, screaming for protection and their rights. I wish I could have been there with them. This poem doesn’t openly talk about sexual assault, but it points towards a question used often when dismissing abuse against women - “What was she wearing?”. And I’m super thrilled I get to share this with @MaureenTai and @gretchenfilart ❤️ Two women I admire not just for their creative work, but for the people they choose to be in this world. Thank you @ankit_raj01 and @TejaswineeRC from the bottom of my very grateful heart 😊❤️🙏🏼

Not watching this! For a movie that pretends to celebrate Asian and South Asian culture, and then takes such a cheap, dehumanising shot at one of the most tragic events in recent Afghan history where so many people died - children fell out of planes!!! Would they have cracked a joke about a terror attack that happened in India or elsewhere ? Maybe they would have! This isn’t humour. #bestofthebestmovie

𝐍𝐄𝐖 Cha: An Asian Literary Journal 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | In "Challenging the Patriarchy with Poetry and Prose", @sadiekaye interviews Shikha S. Lamba. Sadie's introduction: / Some interviews begin with a résumé. This one began with a single sentence that clicked into place. Shikha S. Lamba, a globally published poet, jewellery designer and gemologist, editor of 𝐶𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 @CoffeeConMag , and women’s rights advocate now living in Hong Kong, moves between creative forms the way a reader moves between pages: alert to patterns, hungry for the truth, unwilling to flinch and look away. In our conversation, Shikha traces an origin story that starts with two novels by @NadiaHashimi read in a time of upheaval and ripples outward into community, craft, and solidarity. There are books that become lifelines, candles that become altars, poems that empower and emphasise the gentle art of showing up for women, for stories, for Afghanistan. In June 2026 she began curating a collection to raise the poetic voices of Afghan women in creative partnership with @JackCaradoc ‘s literary magazine 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑦𝑚𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡. The collection was published in August 2026. / 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗: chajournal.com/2026/09/19/sh… @asiancha 。。。。。

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed diving into the amazing fantasy world crafted by author @maithree_w Maithree Wijesekara, and can’t wait for the third instalment due to come out next year. Maithree Wijesekara, the Melbourne-based Australian-Sri Lankan author, soared onto the Sunday Times bestseller list with her debut, The Prince Without Sorrow, in 2025. This year, her eagerly awaited sequel, The Witch Without Memory, received strong praise from readers and the British Fantasy Society. Maithree’s Obsidian Throne fantasy trilogy takes inspiration from Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Dynasty, and skillfully blends myth and fantasy with family drama and adventure. I spoke to the author about her vivid fantasy world, brimming with magic, royalty, witches, and political intrigue. coffeeandconversations.in/re…