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Afghan women express themselves to escape from traditional patriarchal exploitation.
The dictionary defines the word 'Bluestocking' as 'an intelligent and well-educated woman who spends most of her time studying and is therefore not approved of by some men."
A literary movement among women, the Blue Stockings Society was formed in England in the mid-1700s. In an era when only men had the privilege to attend universities, the Society emerged as a revolutionary movement which promoted literacy and intellectual activities among those women who were supposed to master their skills in washing, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery.
Now a bluestocking woman appears neither in London nor in Durham but in such conservative areas of Afghanistan as Helmand and Kandahar, where it is more than a taboo for women to speak against social evils and to publicly express emotions of love, affection and sexual desire.
The Mirman Baheer is a women's literary society in Afghanistan which holds secret gatherings often in basements to bring women together to recite, share and publish their poems and short rhymes written on a range of subjects. Being one of the largest women's literary societies in Afghanistan, the Mirman Baheer has over 400 members who mostly comprise journalists, students, teachers, scholars, professional writers, government officials and lawmakers.
The Mirman Baheer is also known as the "Golden Needle," as its members share their poetry while pretending to stitch and sew. Wearing high-heeled boots, members in Kabul travel on public transport without a veil and attend their weekly meetings on a regular basis with no trouble. However, they have to move secretly in other provinces and far-flung areas, such as Farah, Kandahar, Maidan, Kunduz, Wardak, Khost, Herat and Paktia.
"We take pure and sacred words and express our feelings with those...