Open Skies

Starred review from May 31, 2021
In this exhilarating debut, Rahmani tells the inspiring story of how she became the Afghan Air Force’s first-ever female pilot. Born in 1991 in Kabul, under the Taliban regime, she spent her childhood in Pakistan as a refugee and returned to her homeland with her family in 1999. Up until then, Rahmani’s dream of becoming a pilot “was a mere fantasy,” but after U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan, and with the help of an advisor from the U.S. Air Force, she began flight training in 2010 and advanced up the ranks in Afghanistan’s air force, even traveling to the U.S. to receive the International Women of Courage Award, meet then First Lady Michelle Obama, and fly with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. But her path to success wasn’t without turbulence, and she unsparingly reveals the violence women in her country were subjected to—her mother was once whipped for showing her ankles in public—and the two assassination attempts against her brother because of her military service. In 2016, she sought political asylum in the U.S., where she remains today. Delivered with compassion and courage, Rahmani’s heart-racing account will leave readers gripping their seats. This is a vital work of the highest order.

Starred review from June 1, 2021
In this timely, compelling, and important title, Afghanistan's first female fixed-wing pilot details her struggle to serve her country. Rahmani weaves her personal history into a broader review of Afghanistan's past, detailing the years of war her family experienced. Her father was conscripted by the Soviets; the family fled the Taliban and lived in exile, then, after their return, the American invasion brought both concern and cautious optimism. Rahmani is aware that she and her sisters were lucky because her parents supported their education, but she does not sugarcoat the perils of life for Afghan women, even in Kabul, the city she calls home. Once dubbed the "Paris of Central Asia," it now, along with the rest of the country, labors under a culture that is "oppressive, hostile and dismissive" to women. Her success in the classroom and the cockpit makes both her and her family targets of religious extremists, forcing them to flee in bitterly sad circumstances. It is impossible to not share in Rahmani's frustration and fury as she recounts the continuous roadblocks her fellow Afghans placed in her way. Not simply an inspiring title, this is a memoir of devastation and determination that brings the country's trials into sharp focus.

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