Women in Exile

The 12 women Afkhami interviewed for this intimate portrait of lives in political exile have settled in the U.S., many becoming American citizens. A few, like Fatima Ahmet Ibrahim, a feminist who called for women's rights within the bounds of traditional Islamic culture in her native Sudan, long to return home. ``Like a plant pulled from its soil, its roots withering in the cold air,'' Ibrahim laments, ``I am out of my element in the West.'' Others do not feel at home in their country of origin nor their adopted land. ``Being in exile is being outside, at the edge,'' says Marjorie Agosin, a Chilean human-rights activist who teaches at Wellesley. Afkhami, who left Iran in 1978 when her feminist views became unpopular shortly before the revolution there, begins this remarkable collection with an account of her own exile. The stories resonate with the reader long after the pages are closed. Afkhami exhibits considerable skill in the essence of these women's journeys. Richly detailed, the stories seem cinematic in their narrative, so much so that one forgets this isn't a screen treatment but the oral history of 13 women's flight from political oppression. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)