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 This
time last month, we all were celebrating our country’s
birthday. It’s amazing how far we have come.
From the Civil War to civil rights, we have made
great strides in history. Nowadays, our freedom
seems to have become commonplace. Quite frankly,
it’s something we expect and rightfully
so. Our forefathers fought long and hard to make
our nation what it is today. Yet many countries
around the globe do not have such liberties. It’s
hard for us to imagine what life for them is like.
This month’s Jen’s Jewels
has experienced life in both circumstances.
Awista Ayub fled her homeland of Afghanistan as
a child only to return as an Afghan-American adult.
In her inspirational book HOWEVER TALL
THE MOUNTAIN, she shares her story of
how the game of soccer changed her life and the
lives of Afghan girls forever.
As part of this interview, Hyperion Books
has generously donated five books for you, my
lucky readers, to win. So, don’t forget
to look for the trivia question at the end. Also,
please stop by my website,
www.jennifervido.com, where you can find all
of my past interviews, reviews, and so much more.
Thanks for making Jen’s Jewels a part of
your reading adventure. 
Jen: As an Afghanistan- American, your
cultural heritage played an instrumental role
as the inspiration for your book, HOWEVER TALL
THE MOUNTAIN. Let’s start by taking a step
back, and talk about your journey to America.
Please describe for us the circumstances that
led to your fleeing of Afghanistan back in 1981.
Was anyone in your immediate family left behind?
Awista:
When leaving Afghanistan in 1981 I was only two
years old, so I have no memory of the journey
itself, but the circumstances surrounding our
exit from Afghanistan were tied directly to the
war taking place in the country. In 1978 Russian
forces entered Afghanistan and, as a result, life
changed for many families including my own. My
parents never thought of leaving their homeland
until 1981 but staying for them, they felt, was
also no longer an option as was the sentiment
for the millions of other Afghan refugees that
fled the country since the late 1970s.
Certainly my family was fortunate enough to be
in a position to leave – but this was not
an option for all Afghans. Some of our immediate
family was left behind either because they chose
to stay or they were unable to leave. For those
families that remained in Afghanistan, they thought
it best to weather out the storm thinking it might
only last for a short period of time. There was
still so much uncertainty in regards to where
the country was going, and I’m sure, no
one could have predicted that 30 years later the
country would still be in a tumultuous position.
For those Afghans that did decide to stay after
the initial Russian invasion, I think that they
thought the war and violence would only last a
short period of time, and that the country might
still have a chance to return to normalcy. My
parents did have that same hope, but what was
a temporary move to the States had eventually
become a permanent one, as their home country
was still not stable enough to return to.
Jen: In terms of your family life, what
steps did your parents take in order to keep your
country’s customs and beliefs a part of
your daily life?
Awista:
Growing up with a hyphenated identity wasn’t
always easy, but my parents always kept the culture
strong at home, and from that, my siblings and
I have kept the culture alive in our own lives.
At home my parents would speak to my siblings
and I in our native tongue, Pashto, they taught
us the nuances of the culture, taught us how to
read and write in Arabic so that we could read
the Qur’an, and my mother taught my sister
and me the hand embroidery that is endemic to
the Kandari culture. I must say though that as
a young girl, at times, I might not have always
appreciated the extra efforts that my parents
went through to ensure that the culture was alive
in our home, but it is something that I am even
more thankful and grateful for now.
Jen: Having arrived in the States at
the age of two, I would think that you would have
few, if any, memories of life from your homeland.
Growing up, did you feel as if you belonged here,
or was there always a sense that a part of yourself
was missing?
Awista:
Growing up as a first generation immigrant certainly
had its benefits and challenges. One benefit was
that we always had unique stories from our parents’
lives to listen to, but a challenge was that we
couldn’t experience it ourselves. There
were many times as a young girl where I would
feel a bit out of place – certainly having
a unique name made me stand out, but even more
than that, I did feel as though I couldn’t
always identify with American culture. I remember
my first trip to Afghanistan as an adult and finally
feeling at “home” – I looked
like everyone else, was able to speak Pashto every
day. That sense of belonging was a new and welcoming
feeling to me – which is not to say though
that I don’t feel welcomed in the States,
but to connect again with one’s native country
is a unique and life-changing experience. Although
I felt at “home” there, I still faced
some difficulties in adjusting to life in Afghanistan
having never experienced the culture as strongly
as I did during my time there.
Jen: Since the passing of Title IX in
1972, the opportunity to play sports has greatly
attributed to the overall development of young
women. As a child in the early eighties, please
tell us how your involvement in soccer began,
and how it made a mark on your future.
Awista:
Interestingly enough, I wasn’t involved
with organized athletics until later in life,
and was never a soccer player. With being such
a young immigrant family, the priority for my
parents was to provide the essentials for the
family, and so signing us up for a youth sports
program wasn’t a top priority. My first
real introduction to sports was through television
– ESPN – and I remember watching SportsCenter
weekday and weekend mornings. I would also watch
tennis and ice hockey matches frequently on TV
and always wanted to play – but didn’t
have a chance to at the time. Once I began my
freshman year in high school I decided that I
would play tennis and joined the team that spring
season. I immediately fell in love with playing
and would spend hours on the court even after
practice was over. There began my first introduction
to organized sports. In the classroom and on the
court, I felt, was where I was the most confident
as a young girl. I continued to participate in
sports from that point forward and I now recognize
that this had an extremely positive impact on
my own life. I learned key lessons in life from
my experience playing sports – learned how
to work towards a goal, understood the power of
teamwork, gained strength in my own self-confidence,
and learned how to handle losses with grace and
tenacity. While these lessons can be learned outside
of the sports arena, I do think that the platform
of sports reinforces it more strongly.
Jen: How did your love for soccer transcend
into a personal journey of hope for eight young
girls? And, please describe the mission of the
Afghan Youth Sports Exchange.
Awista: The Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE)
is an organization I founded in late 2003 dedicated
to equipping Afghanistan’s youth with the
leadership skills required to promote athletics
in their communities. Bringing a group of female
soccer players to the States for training, I thought,
would provide them an opportunity to experience
another culture and gain leadership skills while
also learning the fundamentals of the sport.
I chose soccer not because of my love for the
sport per se, but because of my impression of
the global nature of the sport itself. Also, soccer
is easy, since all you really need to play is
a ball. The goal was that the girls, upon their
return to Afghanistan, would help teach soccer
to other young children in Afghanistan. What I
would come to understand later, though, was that
by choosing soccer, a male-dominated sport in
Afghanistan, the girls would be pushing the boundaries
of the sports culture and would be thrust into
a position that would challenge the gender barriers
of the culture both on and off the field.
Jen: How did HOWEVER TALL THE MOUNTAIN
come to fruition? I have to admit, I was quite
touched by the title you chose for your book.
As you shared with your readers, it comes from
an Afghan proverb…However tall the mountain,
there’s always a road. Without a doubt,
it beautifully depicts your story.
Awista:
The title of the book, However Tall the
Mountain, came to fruition as a result
of poet/writer/editor Veronica Golos who worked
with me on the book. Veronica stumbled upon the
proverb while we were working on the book, and
as we discussed title ideas she proposed However
Tall the Mountain. The publisher and I felt that
it was a very fitting title for the book as the
book shares with the reader both stories of struggle,
and also of courage and hope as these young Afghan
girls overcome tremendous obstacles in their own
pursuit in fighting for the right to play.
Jen: As I read the book, I couldn’t
help but wonder… how you were able to convince
these families (the men, of course, who are the
heads of the households) to allow their daughters,
not sons, to play soccer? Here you are, a foreigner,
an American none-the-less, trying to break cultural
restrictions enforced by the former Taliban. How
did you do it? And at the time, did you fear your
own safety?
Awista: A colleague on the ground in Kabul found
the first group of girls that traveled to the
States in 2004. Since girls weren’t playing
soccer at the time that we were recruiting, the
decision in choosing each girl was based on their
own level of maturity in being able to handle
a trip to the States. We also based it on their
leadership potential as we hoped the girls would
help teach peers the sport upon their return to
Afghanistan.
Getting permission from the parents was not actually
too difficult. I strongly believe that parents
all over the world want to provide what is best
for their children, regardless if it’s their
daughters or sons and regardless of what country
they live in. By the time of the program, Afghanistan
had faced over 25 years of war and violence dating
back to 1978. The girls were born into this world
of brutality. When a chance came for them to participate
in the exchange trip to the States, their parents
were more than happy to allow their daughters
to see the world beyond their troubled region.
Jen: Tacking onto that last question,
what was the reaction from the families when you
told them that the girls would be wearing uniforms
and not traditional garb? Did the girls wear burqas
while playing? Why or why not?
Awista:
When the girls were in the States in 2004, I gave
them the option to choose what they were most
comfortable wearing as it wouldn’t be my
place to dictate to them what they should or shouldn’t
wear. While they chose to cover their bodies with
long and loose t-shirts, long and loose shorts
and long socks, they didn’t wear a headscarf
as they did back in Kabul – but this was
their choice. None of the girls wore burqas while
in Kabul at the time of the trip, so not wearing
one while in the States was not an issue. In my
trips to Kabul in working with the local girl’s
sports teams I would also never interfere with
what any girl would want to wear while playing
sports. With that said though, the girls locally
wear what they are most comfortable playing in
– which doesn’t include shorts –
there is variation in how they dress. All of the
girls wear pants, and loose fitting t-shirts –
oftentimes long-sleeve, many also cover their
heads but while some wear the head scarf, others
might wear a baseball cap, or cover their hair
with a bandana. So they use their personal preference
and judgment to decide what is best for them –
as should be the case. The playing field is also
a “safe space” in that there are no
men around watching the girls play, so this provides
them an environment where they can make these
choices for themselves.
Jen: Throughout the book, when the girls
are speaking, they end their phrase with “jan”.
What does that mean? Is it a word of respect in
the Afghan culture? Also, please describe in further
detail the typical Afghan breakfast. The tidbits
of Afghan cultural you shared with the reader
were very interesting.
Awista:
The term “jan” in Afghan culture is
a term of respect and endearment and translates
to mean “dear”. So out of respect
it is a phrase used frequently after someone’s
name.
The typical Afghan breakfast is very tasty and
savory. It oftentimes includes eggs which are
cooked over sautéed tomatoes and onions,
fresh homemade bread, and with warm milk, tea,
or a tea with milk. My favorite is the tea with
milk!
Jen: In what ways was the language barrier
an issue for you in terms of implementing your
program? How much English did the girls learn?
Awista:
The language barrier, particularly when the girls
were in the States, was definitely a major obstacle
to me personally. All of the girls spoke Dari,
and I grew up speaking Pashto, and while some
words are similar, the two languages are vastly
different from one another. Although the language
barrier didn’t hinder my ability to implement
the program, it did make it difficult to pick
up on the dynamics of the team and allow me to
follow a conversation between them in real time.
I oftentimes had to ask for a translation of the
conversation from one of the girls who spoke Pashto.
But while the language barrier might have left
me out of the live conversation at times, it interestingly
provided the girls an opportunity to handle their
own issues and problems, and so when they returned
back to Kabul they were used to each others’
personalities and how to handle their own issues
without the interference of an adult. So I do
feel that they returned as a stronger team and
were capable of managing their own team issues.
In regards to English, the girls picked up a few
phrases and words, but because Dari was the common
language among all of the girls they didn’t
need to learn too much English – although
some girls did understand and spoke basic English
from learning the language in Afghanistan.
Jen: The impact of your program on the
lives of these girls is immeasurable. Simply,
their overall sense of self-worth is priceless.
Let’s turn the tables. How have you grown
as an individual from this experience?
Awista:
In many ways, my work with the program helped
me find a part of myself – a part I didn’t
know was missing at the time. While I always had
dreams of returning to Afghanistan one day, the
circumstance of where the country was throughout
its tumultuous history caused me to let go of
that dream over time. Now, having worked with
the girls and traveled to Afghanistan I’ve
gained an even deeper appreciation and respect
for the culture, and also for those Afghans that
have endured so much pain and suffering. I had
no choice really but to change and grow on a personal
level. And while I was always grateful for the
courage and initiative it took for my parents
to come to the States back in 1981, I’ve
now come to appreciate it even more as I know
that my life experience could have been drastically
different from the life I live. So it has increased
my own sense of responsibility and my own desire
to help others as well, not only in Afghanistan
but Muslim female athletes in other countries.
Jen: Will the girls have the opportunity
to read this book? Why or why not?
Awista:
Yes, they will certainly receive copies of the
book once it is published. Their stories are truly
inspiring and for them to have some of their life
stories written will be something that they can
have for years to come.
Jen: Describe for us your vision for
the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange’s future.
Is there an opportunity for Americans to contribute
their time, talent, and monetary support to this
cause? If so, how would my readers be able to
reach out to your organization?
Awista:
In regards to the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange
(AYSE) and its future, our last in-country program
took place during the summer of 2007 where we
sent a delegation of Afghan-American coaches to
Afghanistan to organize a number of sports clinics
in Kabul. As security has increasingly become
an issue, I couldn’t guarantee the safety
of those coaches that traveled with the program
to Kabul, and we have not sent a delegation of
coaches since then. While my work, up to now,
has focused solely on Afghanistan, I’ve
also come to understand that more funding and
support also needs to be provided for more Muslim
women sports programs. With this in mind, I’ve
partnered with the Dutch NGO Women Win in starting
the “However Tall the Mountain Fund”
in which funds will be used to support programs
for Muslim women in sports. Readers can log onto
my website at www.awistaayub.com
to find out how they can help.
Jen: Thank you so much for stopping by
to chat with my readers. HOWEVER TALL THE MOUNTAIN
is a truly inspirational book. I wish you all
the best with your program. Thanks for making
the world a better place for all girls around
the globe.
Awista:
Thank you. I enjoyed answering the questions and
look forward to hearing the feedback from your
readers.
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Awista
Ayub. Please stop by your favorite bookstore or
local library branch and pick up a copy of HOWEVER
TALL THE MOUNTAIN today.
Better yet, how would you like to win one? Okay,
be one of the first five people to e-mail me at
jensjewels@gmail.com with the correct answer
to the following question.
From where does the title of Awista’s
book originate?
Later this month, I will be bringing to you my
interview with bestselling author Kris Radish.
You won’t want to miss it.
Until next time…Jen
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Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels