My mother comes from a family of strong women as well as influential men. Her grandmother – my great-grandmother – was widowed when her children were young, and her eldest son Janser Khan was locked up because of a tribal feud with another family when he was only nine. To get him released she walked forty miles alone over mountains to appeal to a powerful cousin. I think my mother would do the same for us. Though she cannot read or write, my father shares everything with her, telling her about his day, the good and the bad. She teases him a lot and gives him advice about who she thinks is a genuine friend and who is not, and my father says she is always right. Most Pashtun men never do this, as sharing problems with women is seen as weak. ‘He even asks his wife!’ they say as an insult. I see my parents happy and laughing a lot. People would see us and say we are a sweet family.

我母亲来自于一个有着坚强的女性和有影响力的男性辈出的家族。她的祖母--我的曾祖母在孩子还年幼时就守寡了。她最大的儿子简瑟.汗九岁时，因为一场和另一个家族发生的部落冲突而被关了起来。为了解救儿子，她徒步行走64公里山路，向一位很有权力的表亲求助。我知道母亲也会为我们做同样的事。母亲虽然目不识丁，父亲却喜欢与她分享一切，分享自己一天的工作，那些令人高兴的或是令人沮丧的事。母亲常常调侃父亲，也为他提建议，告诉他她认为谁是真正的朋友而谁不是，父亲说母亲的判断总是正确的。大多数的普什图男人不会这样做，他们认为和女人分享烦恼是软弱的表现。“他竟然还问他太太啊！”他们会用羞辱的口吻这么说。而我的父母亲总是相亲相爱，笑颜常驻。别人总是夸奖我们是甜蜜的一家人。

My mother is very pious and prays five times a day, though not in the mosque as that is only for the men. She disapproves of dancing because she says God would not like it, but she loves to decorate herself with pretty things, embroidered clothes and golden necklaces and bangles. I think I am a bit of a disappointment to her as I am so like my father and don’t bother with clothes and jewels. I get bored going to the bazaar but I love to dance behind closed doors with my school friends.

母亲是一位很虔诚的信徒，她每天祈祷五次。但她不会去清真寺里祈祷。她不赞成跳舞，因为她认为真主不会喜欢；但她喜爱用漂亮的东西，比如绣花布、金项链和手镯把自己打扮得美美的。我想她可能对我有点失望吧，因为我长得像父亲，而且一点都不在意穿着和珠宝。我不喜欢去市集，总觉得很无聊，但我喜欢关上门，跟学校认识的朋友们一起跳舞。

Growing up, we children spent most of our time with our mother. My father was out a lot as he was busy, not just with his school, but also with literary societies and jirgas, as well as trying to save the environment, trying to save our valley. My father came from a backward village yet through education and force of personality he made a good living for us and a name for himself.

在成长的过程中，我们几个孩子大多数时间都跟着母亲。父亲很忙，经常不在家。他不只为了学校的事操劳，还关心文学界和部落集会的事，并积极投身推广环保和保护河谷地区环境的工作。父亲出生在一个落后的村庄，但因为他不服输的个性，通过接受教育，他为我们创造了一个良好的生活环境，也为自己树立起一个好的声名。