4-2-12: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

The news out of Afghanistan in recent weeks has been heartbreaking, particularly the massacre of Afghan civilians and the murder of American soldiers in reprisal for burning Korans.  Lost in the headlines are the voices of Afghans who work quietly each day for progress in their country–and especially missing is news of what’s going on with Afghan women.

Those are the stories that writer Gayle Tzemach Lemmon has been collecting and telling for seven years.  She went from producing political journalism for ABC News to studying international development at Harvard, then traveling to Afghanistan.  What she learned there is the story of her book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe.

Sheilah talks to Lemmon about the book in advance of her appearance in Baltimore tomorrow.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon will be giving a reading at a luncheon for JHPIEGO (Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics) on April 3. The event is sold out, but you can watch it online.

Hear more of Sheilah’s conversation with Gayle about her reporting on midwives trained by JHPIEGO.

Full on air interview