Shifting the Narratives of Afghan Women Refugees: A Critical Study of When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi

Contemporary literature on Afghan women has been considered as one of the most significant voices in the literary world. It is the voice of protest and resistance in a country that is rebuilding and redefining itself. Afghanistan has been staggering under the burden of violence and wars. It is yet to build itself as a stable nation state. This paper will explore the traumatic experiences of the mass displacement of the Afghan people, both internal and external. It is within this context of displacement and migration that the ‘location’ of the refugee woman and her identity in the global context will be studied. This paper examines the various ideological structures that construct the notion of refugee and womanhood. This paper will be a paradigm shift from the narratives of the homogenizing tendency of Western scholars; a tendency to portray all Afghan women refugees as the mute figure behind a burqa with no subjective consciousness. This paper examines the political structures and global refugee laws that locate the refugee woman in positions of ‘helplessness’. This paper will explore how the quest for asylum is often traumatic and the narratives of refugees are celebrations of the human spirit of resilience and hope in the face of trauma.