New writing from Paranda
Read articles and short stories written by Afghan women writers from Paranda, a global initiative from Untold and KFW Stiftung.
The Curse of the Chinar Tree | The Markaz Review
In December 2024, The Markaz Review featured The Curse of the Chinar Tree, a family horror story by Paranda writer Shamsia, translated from Dari by Abdul Bacet Khurram.
“The ailing health of a chinar tree outside a family home in rural Afghanistan mirrors the sickness growing inside, as a malevolent, shiny black stone possesses the family’s patriarch,” said The Markaz Review Literary Editor Malu Halasa. “All the ingredients of obsession are in play: the tensions between religion and madness; frightened children, and an unspoken threat of ever looming violence. “
Eve | The Markaz Review
In December 2024, The Markaz Review featured Eve, a fantasy short story by Paranda writer Parand, translated from Dari by Abdul Bacet Khurram.
“Eve has had enough of being blamed for original sin and decides to leave Purgatory. She doesn’t go to Paris or New York but to Kabul, where she not only watches the fate of the homeless woman holding a dead baby, but becomes her,” said The Markaz Review Literary Editor Malu Halasa.
Portholes | WritersMosaic
Five writers from Afghanistan share days from their journals of exile in this guest edition of WritersMosaic, edited by Sunila Galappatti, in collaboration with Untold Narratives.
Breaking News | Critical Muslim
Critical Muslim, a quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world, featured a short story called Breaking News by Untold writer Parand in Issue 49. Translated from Dari by Dr Negeen Kargar.
The Greenhouse | Words Without Borders
A worker in a cucumber greenhouse takes pity on a young newcomer from her native Afghanistan in this story by Fatema, featured in Words Without Borders in March 2024. Translated from Dari by Shekiba Habib.
The Gray-Winged Pigeons of the Shrine | Words Without Borders
In March 2024, Words Without Borders featured a short story by Afghan writer Batool Haidari about two bathroom attendants who lose their jobs. Translated from Dari by Zubair Popalzai.
The day the Taliban banned women like me from working | Psyche Magazine
In December 2023, Psyche Magazine featured a piece by Afghan writer Nargis and developed through the Paranda network. Translated from Pashto by Negeen Kargar.
Continuing Watching | Brick: A Literary Journal
The Winter 2023 edition of Brick literary journal featured a short story by Fatema K and translated from the Dari by Zubair Popalzai.
Kabul’s Haikus | The Markaz Review
In December 2023, The Markaz Review featured a new short story by Paranda writer Maryam about a teacher Japan who travels to Afghanistan to work at a girls’ school.
Movable Type | 1455’s e-magazine
In November 2023, 1455’s e-magazine Movable Type featured an Untold spotlight, publishing four stories by Afghan women writers from Paranda in their storytelling issue.
The Hotel | PEN Transmissions
In September 2023, PEN Transmissions published a personal essay by Zainab, a writer and contributor to My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women (MacLehose Press, 2022), on leaving Afghanistan. Translated by Zubair Popalzai.
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