Culture and Traditions
The themes of culture and traditions dominate the subject of this book. Exploration of culture and traditions manifest in the practice of bacha posh. Young girls are compelled by culture and traditions to dress like boys so that their families can sire boys. Azita, a parliamentarian, disguises her daughter as a boy so that the community can respect her. The practice is dictated by the norms and traditions of the Afghan people. Most people exercising such cultures believe that they will have boys in the future.
The Conflict of Change
The conflict of change is witnessed when the girls become adolescents. Some girls resist dressing like their fellow girls and opt to continue dressing like boys. Society at large is against girls dressing like boys when they attain puberty. This norm makes some girls start defying and resisting their parents because dressing like boys comes with freedom. Bacha posh adolescents don’t want to lose freedoms that they enjoyed during their childhood stage. Therefore, they start resisting the change.
Gender Role Reversal
Gender-role reversal is the dominant theme of the book. Nordberg investigates how young girls in Afghanistan swap their roles and start acting like boys. The main purpose for gender role reversal among these young girls is to make families sire male children. Bacha posh are allowed by traditions to swap their gender roles. The practice is aimed at begetting male children into families.
Confidence and Courage
Young girls exercising bacha posh tend to be more confident and courageous than their peers. The confidence and courage associated with bacha posh can be attributed to freedoms they enjoy during the childhood stage. Azita is a parliamentarian in a patriarchal society. She claimed the position because she was courageous from a tender age.
Marriage and Family
The practice of bacha posh involves marriage and families. Several women who practice bacha posh face it rough in their marriages for not acting like wives. Nordberg interrogated Shukria, a former bacha posh who has been left by her husband for not being wife enough. Families that disguise their daughters as sons believe such practices will bring more boys among their kin.
