Girl Fighters is a novel based on a true account of two girls who passed as men and fought in Yemen¿s 1960¿s civil war. The characters in our story are two cousins who dress as males and are known as Mohammed and Ali. The men in their family have died in war. The girls feel it is their duty to seek revenge, the code of honor in tribal society. However in Yemen girls are hidden from public view¿behind walls, doors, and veils. When Mohammed and Ali decide to seek revenge, they ironically violate another tribal expectation: that fighters be males. At first, Mohammed and Ali are inspired by their…mehr
Girl Fighters is a novel based on a true account of two girls who passed as men and fought in Yemen¿s 1960¿s civil war. The characters in our story are two cousins who dress as males and are known as Mohammed and Ali. The men in their family have died in war. The girls feel it is their duty to seek revenge, the code of honor in tribal society. However in Yemen girls are hidden from public view¿behind walls, doors, and veils. When Mohammed and Ali decide to seek revenge, they ironically violate another tribal expectation: that fighters be males. At first, Mohammed and Ali are inspired by their act of resistance. The war was compelling, a ¿noble cause.¿ Later, they come to realize that war benefits corrupt political leaders and business interests, both local and international. Against the backdrop of war they gain new perspectives. Taking off veils and dressing as men opens their eyes to gender inequities. They question female roles in tribal society. For example, boys can be educated at mosques, but girls cannot attend schools. Mohammed plans to open a girl¿s school when the war ends. Ali is a military medic. When Ali is killed, Mohammed confronts loss and guilt. She cannot return to her former life. The dream of educating girls cannot happen as a ¿man.¿ In tribal society, as ¿a woman¿ she must marry and produce children. Against the odds, Mohammed reshapes her life as leader in the community.
Carolyn Everett, later Han, started life in Los Angeles (born in 1941). Instead of attending college, she married young, moved to Malibu, raised her husband’s three children—then he asked for a divorce. Reclaiming her life, in 1978 she moved to Kauai, attended college, and later earned a master’s degree in English from San Diego. In 1984, she moved to China, where she taught English in Chongqing and Yunnan and married a Chinese man, taking his name. Then, she lectured within the University of Hawaii system where she published three collections of Chinese folk tales and several children’s books. In 2000, divorced again and ready for adventure, she moved to Yemen. Over the next eight years, she studied Arabic and trekked by camel across the Ramlat as-Sab’atayn (desert) as a lone woman with Bedouin guides. Living in Marib, a tribal area (once home to the legendary Queen of Sheba), she instructed doctors and midwives in English. Also, she began her memoir. In Sana’a, she spent time writing and lecturing at the Lebanese University. Then she moved to Muscat, Oman, where she collected folk tales. In 2009, she moved to Cairo, where she wrote and taught at a Canadian college. Next, Kosovo and then Montenegro where she makes her home today. “I have been a student of many cultures,” says Han. “I have allowed my life to unfold, trusting that I will receive the lessons I need, but not always those that I want. My journey is not over . . .”
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