Parin Dossa is the author of Afghanistan Remembers. In Afghanistan Remembers, Dossa examines Afghan women’s recall of violence through memories and food practices in their homeland and its diaspora. Her work reveals how the suffering and trauma of violence has been rendered socially invisible following decades of life in a war-zone.
How did you become involved in your area of research?
For the last two decades, I have been exploring the relationship between gender, violence, displacement and the politics of memory. In the course of this ethnographic research involving Muslim women of Kenya, Canada, Afghanistan and more recently India, I identified a couple of issues. First, violence was understood more at the physical level; structural violence (systemic exclusion of marginalized people from basic entitlements) received some attention but it did not capture the enduring impact of violence in the inner recesses of life. Second, the issue of gender was disproportionally documented. Women were portrayed as victims to be saved by the west. Women’s work in re-building familial lives and communities remained unacknowledged. Third, the superpowers complicity in perpetuating violence and displacing people was not articulated. Here political amnesia is salient. In the wake of a situation where violence has become endemic to our world, I felt that there was need for a deeper understanding of the forces that cause undue suffering.
What inspired you to write this book?
When United States and its allies invaded and occupied Afghanistan in 2001, I felt that it was time that I travel to this country to document the “real story” from the point of view of the women whose voices are rarely heard. The Taliban were exclusively held responsible for the “chaos” and “disorder” in the country. Political amnesia was at work. What was not spelled out was that Afghanistan (one of the poorest countries in the world) was used to wage the superpowers Cold War between 1979 to 1989. It was at this time that Afghanistan was turned into an armed camp – a state of affairs that have not come to an end. My two trips to Afghanistan (Fall of 2008 and Fall of 2009) were motivated by the need to explore how the women remembered the on-going conflicts in their country.
How long did it take you to write your latest book?
It took two years to write the book. The review process and publication takes a long time – another two years.
What do you find most interesting about your area of research?
Engaged anthropology is the most interesting part of my research. This orientation allows us to address issues of inequality and injustice as these unfold in the everyday lives of people. In the spirit of engaged work, I strive to reach out to multiple audiences so that we can begin to identify fundamental sources of violence and work towards non-militarized solutions. The starting point is to recognize the humanity of people as opposed to the counter-image of Othering. In my work, I seek to interrogate the socially constructed and politicized divide between the global North and the global South. Engaged anthropology requires us to generate humanistic discourses from the bottom up and recognize innovative genres through which people give voice to their experiences of displacement and suffering.
What do you wish other people knew about your area of research?
I would like other people to engage into self-reflexivity as to how we can reverse the massive tide of violence that has engulfed our world globally. I believe that we can work towards progressive change through our spheres of influence regardless of however small these may be. To remain passive or take the stance of an innocent bystander in the wake of inequalities and violence is not morally appropriate.
What’s the most surprising thing you discovered during the course of your research?
The most surprising part of my research was to observe women’s resilience and courage along with their capacity to nurture social and spiritual lives under difficult circumstances.
Do you have to travel much concerning the research/writing of your book?
I travelled to Kabul (Afghanistan) twice to conduct this research. It was difficult owing to recurring bomb blasts.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part of writing this book was to witness the suffering that Afghan people were subject to – suffering brought about by the superpower’s militarization of their country.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned that merely listening to the stories of violence and documenting how people remember what the world does not want to acknowledge is not enough. We need to actively work towards creating a more peaceful world without underestimating the complexities entailed in this task.
What are your current/future projects?
I am currently working on two projects (a) Transnational Aging and Kin-Work; (b) Palliative Care and Racialized Minorities.
What do you like to read for pleasure? What are you currently reading?
I like to read classical and non-classical fiction that touches on deeper and fundamental issues of life. I am currently reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
If you weren’t working in academia, what would you be doing instead?
I wound be engaged in advocacy work on peace and nurturing sociality and spirituality.
