Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Published in 2012 by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war—a rare achievement for any Afghan woman—Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi’s journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

About The Author

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is the deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program. Her reporting about women entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Rwanda, has been published by the New York Times, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, the Daily Beast, and the Huffington Post.