Kabul Girls Soccer Club
By Awista Ayub

EMPOWERING AFGHAN WOMEN THROUGH SOCCER

Awista Ayub, author of KABUL GIRLS SOCCER CLUB: A Dream, Eight Girls, & a Journey Home (Hyperion; June 8, 2010; Trade Paperback; $14.99)

In 1981 when she was just two years old, Awista Ayub’s family fled upheaval and violence in Afghanistan to settle in the United States. After the fall of the Taliban, she was inspired to create the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE), a program designed to nurture, empower, and teach leadership skills to Afghan girls. This is the story of how a ball can start a revolution. Awista Ayub details the journey of eight young Afghan women she brought to America to learn to play soccer in her paperback, KABUL GIRLS SOCCER CLUB: A Dream, Eight Girls, and a Journey Home. Just in time for 2010 FIFA World Cup Competition, KABUL GIRLS SOCCER CLUB reveals the ways in which youth culture in Afghanistan is challenging traditional gender roles and transforming the role of women in the Middle East.