Gathering Strength: Conversations with Afghan Women offers remarkable, sometimes hard-hitting stories of courage and survival, and will help readers make sense of seemingly intractable social issues in a similarly intractable nation. Dynamic, candid photographs reveal the infinite variety of women who are too often portrayed as an homogenous mass.
Peggy Kelsey is a professional photographer with a background in social work and education. In 2002 she founded the Afghan Women's Project, and traveled to Afghanistan to photograph and interview women in 2003 and 2010. Her book, Gathering Strength: Conversations with Afghan Women was published in October, 2012. She lives in Austin, TX.
Peggy's three talks: Afghanistan: A View from the Ground, Women of Afghanistan, vol.2, and Human Rights in Afghanistan will inspire you with stories of Afghan women working to improve the lives of women and girls. Other programs are under development and custom programs can be created to suit your group.
Peggy's photo exhibit of 27 portraits accompanied by each woman's bio and and excerpt from her interview leaves an indelible impression on viewers.
Visit the Speaking page on Peggy's website to find out more.
Peggy Kelsey traveled to Afghanistan to photograph and interview women in 2003 and 2010. Visit the Afghan Women's Project to meet the women and read what they have to say.
"Peggy Kelsey's book gives voice to the struggles, sacrifices, and hopes of a remarkable cast of Afghan women. This illuminating and moving collection of interviews is a testament to the courage and resilience of women who collectively yearn to rebuild their war-torn nation and for the freedom to choose the course of their own lives."
"Everything you need to know about the current situation of women in Afghanistan you will find in Peggy Kelsey's book, through the voices of the women themselves.
"Everything you need to know about the current situation of women in Afghanistan you will find in Peggy Kelsey's book, through the voices of the women themselves.
"This work is a first-rate lesson in the complexity of the problems Afghan women face and of their unstoppable resolve."
"This is one of the first [books] I've seen that lets us hear Afghan women speaking for themselves. The range and diversity of its subjects make this a comprehensive look at Afghanistan through the eyes of its women. I hope Kelsey will not be the last to walk through the door she has opened."
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