Deborah Rodriguez

Rodriguez, hairdresser and beautician, leaves her life in America to go to Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban to set up a beauty school, and thereby offer a career path and possible independence to Afghani women with few outlets outside the home. This is an interesting and unlikely story, but somewhat spoilt for me by Rodriguez herself, who comes over as a somewhat self-centred woman who neglects her family back home and ignores the cultural expectations of her new one. Still, this rather badly-written book paints an interesting picture of the reality of day-to-day life in Kabul, and inspired me to find out more. Two and a half stars then.… (mere)

The book takes place in the early 2000s when Ms. Rodgriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian effort. As a hairdresser, she was surrounded by doctors, nurses, therapists, and diplomats. Almost immediately, however, she realized that her skills were much sought after by locals and foreigners alike. As it turns out, hair shops were a few of the only businesses available to women to thrive in. Men weren’t allowed, as the women’s hair was uncovered, and this allowed them a form of independence.

I’ve wanted to read Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson since it came out in 2007, but never got a chance. That is until I found it in my local Little Free Library, and grabbed it. The book started great, with an interesting perspective on both NGOs and Afghan women. I enjoyed very much reading about the struggles and successes Ms. Rodgriguez had with her program.

I think it was a mistake for the author to make the book about her instead of the women she was trying to help. From reading the book it seems that she wanted to be the center of attention and a victim of circumstance. The book, while certainly might have been therapeutic, almost reads like a journal of a woman and her bad choices.

I found that aspect of the book to be uncanny, and taking away from the main cause. The author is proud that she was a liberated American woman in a conservative culture, earning her the nickname “Crazy Debbie”. However, she goes on to marry an Afghan… by arranged marriage… without knowing him. And she’s his second wife, as in… he already has a family and a baby on the way!

Granted her husband, Sam, does help her out a lot but, again, it takes the focus away from women themselves. It’s almost as if “Crazy Debbie” was bored in America and wanted an extraordinary adventure.

The book is very readable and does provide an informative window into the lives of Afghan women. I understood the book was written to promote the author’s charity and raise money to continue her program. This is an excellent book for discussion, as it raises many questions as well as provides a thoughtful window into another culture.… (mere)

The details about life in Afghanistan, stories of the women who survived the war with Russia and the rule of the Taliban are interesting and informative. But there is much that is perplexing and even disingenuous. The author sleep walks into an arranged marriage with a man who already has a wife and children in Saudi Arabia. She fixes herself inside this system that has been responsible for the oppressive lives of the women she is there to help. The most potent feeling she can conjure for the other wife (who is treated as a servant in the home of their husband's parents) is a squeamishness about her father-in-law's suggestion that they meet. She identifies with many of the women in her school because of her previous marriage to an abusive spouse, and it seems like she would be informed by that experience in the choices that she makes. The sexual abuse of a young girl in her home that happened with Ali, her business partner and house mate, seem inevitable. She puts a stop to it when she witnesses it, regrets the acquaintance, and distances herself from him as soon as she can, but it seems like it went on for months or years before she caught on and wasn't it obvious all along? There were other instances of sexually abusive behavior from a housekeeper, but Debbie kept the woman around and it broke her heart to let her go. The book is more complicated in the questions that it begs than it is as a memoir of an intrepid traveler trying to do some good in the world. It seems like the author's intentions were good, but her motivations and impulses unexamined and maybe even harmful.… (mere)