In 1979‚ Awista Ayub fled her birthplace of Kabul‚ Afghanistan 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 of soccer‚ and set the wheels for life-changing events in motion by forming the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE). What started with bringing a group of eight Afghan girls to the US for a soccer clinic exploded into nothing short of a phenomenon-- in a country where females were brought to soccer stadiums to be shot for something as inocuous as wearing nail polish‚ the girls Awista helped nurture returned to Afghanistan and spread the interest in soccer and the confidence they gained from it. Today‚ the country has fifteen girls' soccer teams that practice and compete in an organized league. This is the story of how a ball can start a revolution.
In bringing soccer to Afghan young women‚ what Awista ended up doing‚ above all‚ was instilling in them courage‚ self-confidence‚ and self-worth-- vital components that the Taliban so brutally stripped away from women under their rule. Against all odds‚ and risking being killed‚ Awista gave these girls the ability to come together and play a sport that has given them so much more than just athletic ability. The social change that Awista dreamed would come about has progressed so much since she founded the AYSE and continues to move forward.
For this book‚ Awista travelled back to Afghanistan to visit the original six young women she introduced to soccer‚ and in this timely‚ heartfelt‚ and moving narrative‚ she will tell their stories. The book will be a window into their thoughts and experiences. Soccer‚ here‚ is the metaphor for freedom-- like "passing" the ball in the game‚ it is up to each of them to take their newfound courage and "pass" it on to each woman on the "team." This book is about women finding strength in each other and in themselves to overcome unthinkable adversity‚ and risking their lives to obtain freedoms that we take for granted in our everyday lives.
