The impassioned memoir of Afghanistan’s Sima Samar: medical doctor, public official, founder of schools and hospitals, thorn in the side of the Taliban, nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, and lifelong advocate for girls and women

Sima Samar has been fighting for justice all her life. Born into a polygamous family, Samar agreed to an arranged marriage to continue her own education. Once she had qualified as a doctor, she took off into rural areas – on horse, donkey, even on foot – to treat people who had never received medical help before. As the situation worsened, Samar found herself working in increasingly adverse circumstances, and in grave personal danger.

After Samar’s husband was disappeared by the regime, she faced a choice: to accept the injustices she saw around her or to keep driving for a better Afghanistan. From selling her own hand embroidered bed quilt to pay for her degree, to becoming Vice President in an office with no heating and only beach chairs, Samar has worked tirelessly for human rights in Afghanistan – the worst country in the world to be a woman.

In Outspoken, Samar writes unapologetically and unflinchingly about the colossal internal and international political failures that have engulfed Afghanistan over the past five decades – the corruption, tribal tensions and hijacking of religion. But it is also a powerful story of loyalty, diplomacy and integrity; a vision for a brighter dawn.