Sanaz Fotouhi | Writer’s journey – bringing to light the stories of women and children in Afghanistan

What She Did Next

*Content warning: This episode contains brief mentions of self-harm and suicide, so please consider this before listening, particularly if you might find this triggering. In Australia, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 to access 24-hour crisis support.

Our guest today is Sanaz Fotouhi and she’s an author, academic and filmmaker, whose book-writing journey began back in her 20s with a life-changing trip to Afghanistan.

What she saw on that trip would stay with her forever and it set her on a path to show the world what was happening for women and children in that country.

More than a decade on, Sanaz has co-produced two award-winning documentary films, juggling a PhD in English Literature along the way… and behind the scenes, she was toiling away on a manuscript.

She nearly gave up many times over the years but after a rollercoaster of rewrites and rejections, her manuscript won the 2019 Peter Blazey Fellowship, and her book ‘Love Marriage in Kabul: A Memoir’ has now been published and is gracing the shelves of bookstores around the country.

In this episode, Sanaz talks about her book-writing journey, the different facets of her career, her adventurous travels to Kabul and her latest project with Australian charity Mahboba’s Promise to support and empower women and girls in Afghanistan.

LINKS

‘Love Marriage in Kabul: A Memoir’ is published by Gazebo Books: https://gazebobooks.com.au/

Buy the book: https://www.booktopia.com.au/love-marriage-in-kabul-sanaz-fotouhi/book/9780648901105.html

Find out more about Sanaz Fotouhi: https://sanazfotouhi.com/

Follow Sanaz Fotouhi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanazWrites

Find out more about Mahboba’s Promise: https://mahbobaspromise.org/

CREDITS

Host and producer: Jacqui Ooi

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What She Did Next is proud to be a part of the Women's Agenda Podcast Network. Visit https://womensagenda.com.au/

What She Did Next acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which this podcast is recorded and produced, the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation and the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

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