The Dressmaker of Khair Khana
Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Zimmerman
About this listen
The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war - a rare achievement for any Afghan woman - Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC Newsreporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story, and the result is an unusually intimate and unsanitized look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan. These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation.
Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as debates over withdrawal timelines dominate the news. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.
©2011 Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (P)2011 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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What is your mother tongue? Sometimes the simplest questions take a book to answer. Such is the case with Tania Romanov's story of exile, emigration, and immigration and how native language can be a powerful touchstone for the sense of home. The unrelenting consequences of 100 years of Balkan wars force three generations of Croatian women to flee their homelands multiple times. Eventually, Tania, a successfully integrated American immigrant from Eastern Europe, journeys back to her fractured homeland with her mother to unravel the secrets of their shared past.
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Ljiljana Popovic, born in former Yugoslavia
- By Ljiljana Popovic on 03-18-21
By: Tania Romanov
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Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
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Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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Street of Eternal Happiness
- Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road
- By: Rob Schmitz
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas, and opportunity. Marketplace's Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighborhood, forging deep relationships with ordinary people who see in the city's sleek skyline a brighter future, and a chance to rewrite their destinies.
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Deserving of better audio
- By Rachael on 02-19-18
By: Rob Schmitz
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Kabul Beauty School
- An American Woman Goes behind the Veil
- By: Deborah Rodriguez, Kristin Ohlson
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Most Westerners working in Afghanistan spend their time tucked inside a military compound or embassy. Not Deborah Rodriguez. Here, she tells the story of the beauty school she founded in the middle of Kabul and of the vibrant women who were her students. When Rodriguez opened the Kabul Beauty School, she not only empowered her students with a new sense of autonomy but also made some of the closest friends of her life.
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Thumbs down
- By Becky on 06-14-07
By: Deborah Rodriguez, and others
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Keeping Hope Alive
- One Woman: 90,000 Lives Changed
- By: Hawa Abdi, Sarah J. Robbins
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Hawa Abdi, "the Mother Teresa of Somalia" and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is the founder of a massive camp for internally displaced people located a few miles from war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia. Since 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, famine struck, and aid groups fled, she has dedicated herself to providing help for people whose lives have been shattered by violence and poverty.
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How Refreshing
- By Jean Watz on 07-21-14
By: Hawa Abdi, and others
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Daring to Drive
- A Saudi Woman's Awakening
- By: Manal al-Sharif
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader of a courageous movement to support women's right to drive.
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The rain begins with a single drop
- By Sara on 07-01-17
By: Manal al-Sharif
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A Woman of Firsts
- The midwife who built a hospital and changed the world
- By: Edna Adan Ismail, Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Edna Adan Ismail
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Edna saw first-hand how poor healthcare, lack of education and ancient superstitions had devastating effects on Somaliland’s people, especially its women. When she suffered the trauma of FGM herself as a young girl at the bidding of her mother, Edna’s determination was set.
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Author Read and So Moving
- By Clementa Frederiksen on 03-04-24
By: Edna Adan Ismail, and others
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Between Two Worlds
- Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam
- By: Zainab Salbi, Laurie Becklund
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Zainab Salbi was 11-years-old when her father was chosen to serve as Saddam Hussein's personal pilot, her family often forced to spend weekends with Saddam where he watched their every move. As a palace insider, Zainab offers a singular glimpse of what it is like to come of age under a dictator and provides an intimate portrait of the man she was taught to call "uncle". She watched as Saddam pitted friends, spouses, and even children against each other to compete for his approval.
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An excellent history lesson
- By Ella on 12-01-09
By: Zainab Salbi, and others
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Claiming My Place: Coming of Age in the Shadow of the Holocaust
- By: Planaria Price, Helen Reichmann West
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Barbara Reichmann, once known as Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrko´w Trybunalski.
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Amazing
- By Nordic Artisan on 07-09-18
By: Planaria Price, and others
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Behind Enemy Lines
- The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany
- By: Marthe Cohn, Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Marthe Cohn was a young Jewish woman living just across the German border in France when Hitler rose to power. Her family sheltered Jews fleeing the Nazis, including Jewish children sent away by their terrified parents. But soon her homeland was also under Nazi rule. As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe's sister was arrested and sent to Auschwitz and the rest of her family was forced to flee to the south of France. Always a fighter, Marthe joined the French Army and became a member of the intelligence service of the French First Army.
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Amazing story of a fighter and survivor
- By Magalie Busch on 05-06-19
By: Marthe Cohn, and others
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Bend, Not Break
- A Life in Two Worlds
- By: Ping Fu, MeiMei Fox
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Ping Fu knows what it’s like to be a child soldier, a factory worker, and a political prisoner. To be beaten and raped for the crime of being born into a well-educated family. To be deported with barely enough money for a plane ticket to a bewildering new land. To start all over, without family or friends, as a maid, waitress, and student. Ping Fu also knows what it’s like to be a pioneering software programmer, an innovator, a CEO, and Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
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A true account as good as any Horatio Alger story!
- By Roy B. Paschal on 01-14-13
By: Ping Fu, and others
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Anne Frank Remembered
- By: Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than two years, Miep Gies and her husband helped hide the Franks from the Nazis. Like thousands of unsung heroes of the Holocaust, they risked their lives each day to bring food, news, and emotional support to the victims. From her own remarkable childhood as a World War I refugee to the moment she places a small, red-orange, checkered diary -- Anne's legacy -- in Otto Frank's hands, Miep Gies remembers her days with simple honesty and shattering clarity.
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A Fast Reading Could-Not-Put-It-Down book
- By Starlet on 03-07-10
By: Miep Gies, and others
What listeners say about The Dressmaker of Khair Khana
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Susan
- 09-20-12
Excellent Listen
For someone whose knowledge of the Taliban in Afghanistan mostly came from the evening news and Newsweek, this is a personal account of extraordinary women quietly living within a system and taking care of themselves and their families through a collective effort and the determination of a strong and courageous woman. The story is not heavy with political or governmental details, rather it is from the perspective of a family and its neighbors looking after one another while living under Taliban rule. Zimmerman's reading was tempered and consistent; she let the story speak for itself.
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7 people found this helpful
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- addictedtoaudibles
- 12-07-15
Inspiring
I'm a big fan of entrepreneurship. Reading about the courage, drive & thoughtfulness of these sisters who start a dressmaking business while under Taliban rule was amazing. This is a remarkable family & I so enjoyed reading about how their lives transformed in so many ways.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Alana
- 03-28-12
I was hooked from the first 5mins
What made the experience of listening to The Dressmaker of Khair Khana the most enjoyable?
I enjoy hearing about the life these girls had to lead and how they found a way to live withing the endless rules that had been placed on them...it was good to hear triumph over the odds.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Kamila, the way she approaches things and deals with what comes to her is wonderful.
What does Sarah Zimmerman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I find the readers voice entrancing and she keeps you focused on the story and you want to hear more.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I laughed and cried through the book, the girls had their moments but the descriptions of what happed to some was heartbreaking for me and unlike who told the story I wasn't there so imagine how they felt.
Any additional comments?
It is well worth a listen I found the whole thing uplifting so now if I think I am having a tough time I just remember what they lived through and I can see I am not really doing it tough.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Race
- 12-04-16
Everyone needs to read this
I had no idea of history of this country..i am amazed at the strength and faith of this family..i want to eat naa and chai tea and sew this them...true heroines..everyone who wants to own a business or teach needs to read this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Julie
- 05-23-12
The Women of Afghanistan are Amazing!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This was a wonderful real life tale. The women portrayed in this were amazing and the author and narrator keep you engaged through out. I felt the fear and the betrayal of a country turned against it's own citizens, but also an appreciation of why events unfolded the way they did. It helped me understand what it felt like to have the taliban take over your neighborhood and the women shut into their homes, only to find a way to keep themselves occupied as well as make a living in such an environment! This really is a must listen to for anyone interested in women in Afghanistan and their survival and strength. I was in awe.
What other book might you compare The Dressmaker of Khair Khana to and why?
The Kite Runner
Which scene was your favorite?
When the Taliban regime had just taken over and how it affected the women.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I had many "drive way" moments where I couldn't get out of my car because I wanted to listen to the end of a chapter.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Siara Walton
- 09-04-16
beautiful!
The story was easy to follow and could understand clearly. I was just doing this for summer reading but I really enjoyed the book.
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- alias
- 11-18-17
illuminating and readable too
with the present-day demonization of Muslims I think this is an excellent book for all to read. I have spent some time in the Middle East . returning home to the kinds of things that are going on in the United States against Muslim people has dismayed me. this book is about children who survived the occupation of Afghanistan by radical rabid Muslim men. had there been a journalist in the early days of Christianity writing about a family without mother or father surviving the Spanish Inquisition it could be no more contemporary.
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- Josie B.
- 04-18-22
A story for the world to read
This true story is one that applies to the world as we know it today and should be read by everyone.
We are all one and what apples to one part of the world applies to everywhere
We should realize that our world as we knew it is gone and should strive to apply what we have just learned by reading this story and work to make the world a better place to live together.
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- Bernard Abercrombie
- 11-26-22
Follow your passions
A powerful book written to show how resourceful women became during a war when the Taliban ruled Kabul and essentially imposed restrictions to survive. The author wrote the details of a young woman who had the courage to support her family as their income dwindled to below sustainable as men fled or fought, and women were house bound. I enjoyed the book, emotionally feeling inspired to not give up. We are blessed to live in a community with many resources and non profit organizations that support women and families.
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- Ginger
- 03-09-12
nice story-writing style and performance lacking
The performance was better suited to a mystery or thriller. It got tiring after the first few chapters. The writing style was more like a long magazine article and really bogged down as the book progressed. Occasionally terms would be used that were glaring exceptions to dialog. e.g. women were warned not to goof-off? so out of place....
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5 people found this helpful