A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice

Her book is highly inspirational, life changing to me by setting an example of speaking truth to power. Malalai Joya is my new heroine. A more descriptive title would be an "A Brave Women among War Criminals & Drug lords that runs the Karzai Government that tries to kill her". She is willing to die for her message against injustice & for freedom & democracy. She had at least 5 assassinations on her life. She credits her survival from leaks within the ranks of her enemies. Even associates of war criminals have some compassion. Even if she is killed as she says won't be the first or the last to die for the truth.I couldn't put Afghan war in context before reading her book. We see glimpses of the truth in our media. But our media is as she says, "dust in the eyes of the world". Her book was shocking to me, even though I read "Killing Hope, U.S. military & C.I.A. interventions since World War II by William Blum". The Afghan war in the context of the U.S. helping Bin Ladin against the Soviets & aiding Saddam against Iran it is not surprising. She says her message is confirmed by "Human Rights Watch & Transparency International"; this is true. Larry Wilkerson who was Colin Powell's chief of staff from a different direction also confirms was she says.There are two types of Muhajadeen. The 1st is the true patriots of Afghanistan that fought for freedom against the Soviet occupation. The 2nd type is the war criminals that killed tens of thousands of innocent Afghans & did thousands of rapes. The war criminal type has reinvented themselves as both the Taliban & "Northern Alliance". The Northern Alliance that killed 65,000 innocent Afghans in Kubul which maybe even worse than the Taliban is now the political elite in the Karzai's government. By supporting the war criminals, drug lords & the friends of rapists in the Karzai government we have betrayed the Afghan & American people, our soldiers, democracy, freedom & women's right not to be abused.I decided we must help her. We should try to end an unjust war. American soldiers shouldn't be are lined along the TAPI pipeline route like Larry Wilkerson says. The U.S. should negotiate with other countries not to support war criminals & lead the way by cutting support for the corrupt Karzai government & ending the war. I donated to the Defense Committee for Malalai Joya ([...]). If she is killed by her enemies we should make her more powerful in death than in life.

I have worked in Afghanistan for the better part of 8 years now, so know the country and its people well. Malalai Joya is known here by EVERYONE and they all have mixed emotions about her. This is a compelling read as her passion for her country is clear. Her battles against an Afghan culture that hasn't changed much even with the U.S. entrance is indeed the best part of this book. However, she's also a socialist and her leftist views are expressed often and disguised as democratic values. This is both interesting as she is essentially self-taught, and sad because she is extremely intelligent but I feel she has not been exposed to conservative/individualistic views. What Joya does not realize is that liberalism is as tyrannical as the Islamic warlords she exposes in this book. My other problem is her disdain for America and the Afghan government the U.S. helped create. There can be no doubt that freedom and growth has exploded in Afghanistan since the Taliban are gone, and this is not acknowledged by Joya. She laments the government America helped create and highlights the problems instead of giving props to the positive changes. Overall I recommend it, just discount her leftist views and her anti-American points when they manifest (which is really not often).

I would give it five stars for courage and honesty, qualities that we Americans no longer possess. In spite of the enormous sacrifice that Edward Snowden made for "we the people", we are too cowardly to stand up and demand our constitutional rights. As a World War II Marine Corps vet I put my life on the line for "we, the people". Now "we,the people" are throwing their constitutional rights away. Malalai Joya symbolized the sort of people we once were. She states very boldly that Afghanistan has three enemies - the Taliban, The Mussidee, and the American occupation troops. The worst are the Americans who indiscriminately bomb wedding parties. The musshadi are thugs used by the Americans to slaughter the Afghanis and the least threatening of all are the Taliban whom she has learned how to deal with. She and all Afghanis want the American invaders to leave immediately. Such an amazing book for us to have. Wake up and fight, America.

Malalai Joya is a courageous, determined advocate for the peoples of Afghanistan. Her autobiography speaks to the wrongs that have been perpitrated against the masses by those in power - Taliban, Northern Alliance, Warloads, Puppets of the U.S., and before that, the Russians . . . She writes this book not for profit, as all moneys go the the needs of the women and children of this country. She has no love loss for the United States - seeing the influences the U.S. has made, supporting those people in power who have done nothing but damage to the population. This book is not all flowers and hopeful optimism, it speaks to the large issues confronting the country. Each day she puts herself in danger willingly - her mission is too important. Read this. Afghanistan has been desecrated by the powerful. We owe it to them, and to us. Those are our dollars being fed into those who conduct damage to fill their own pockets. I pray she stays safe, she is needed there.

Joya is an example to all who fight for what is right. This book is an inspiration to many. Although her message isloud and clear, I found it repetitive as of the middle of the book. We never found out much about her family or her husband. I also found it unrealistic in that she could do no wrong. She constantly slammed the warlords in Afghanistan and the US in her book which is gutsy and correct. She never appeared to look at herself to ask...What can I do differently?....How can I work WITH members of the Parliament to change views?

good quality, low price, arrived promptly and well packaged

Joya has summarized her life and presented it in a fashion which I found quite inspiring. This book is an explanation of courage manifest, something Joya has gained through an education and strong upbringing. I feel as if Joya is an archetype of those who have served to change the world, however limited in effect it may appear for now. I bought this book because I was reading Noam Chomsky's 'Hopes and Prospects'; in which he cites Joya a few times, and calls this book remarkable. I set out to buy 'A Woman Among Warlords', based entirely off Chomsky's glowing fondness of this woman and can now see justification for his conclusions.So yes, this book is probably more than you'd expect at first glance. I cannot help but think that it describes a tragedy in regards to content. I stand in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. I hope above all else that they may obtain amelioration, though it is unlikely, unless we insist on justice for all and seek to end xenophobia. Aside from the factual, contextual and practical modern relevance of these pages, I must note the quality in which this book is written, indeed quite high.If you have come this far, I would advise you to obtain a copy for a read through.

Finally a truly inside view of Afghanistan. At the risk of her own life, Malalai Joya has chosen to stand up against oppression and to work actively towards a better society. Speaking out her reality, her words thoroughly depict a sombre situation that is only getting worst as time goes on. Balancing between the personal and the political, her narrative makes for a powerful story supported by strong data and eye opening facts. At the very least, it is food for the thought; you may even end up reconsidering things you thought you knew.Highly recommended, I hope many, many people will read this book. If you have even the slightest interest about the Afghanistan situation, I believe you will find it worth your while.

This book is amazing. It is the story about ordinary Afghans' sorrowful lives told by an (used to be) ordinary Afghan woman who has lived through one. This book makes more appalling the fact that the US and the NATO nations are spending billions of tax payers' money to invade Afghanistan and drive the ordinary Afghani's lives into further destruction and despair.

Joya is brave and sees through it all. She gives the reader a concise history of her country and shows clearly how it has been affected by foreign involvement and corruption. Corruption is a world wide problem, and Joya knows very well how that has affected Afghanistan. I hope the situation improves soon and I know what is dependent on it now that I have read her book. She is an inspiration to us all, and a model of advocacy and democracy.