'Parvana' Meaningful Quotes

"The lesson here, my daughters," he looked from one to the other, "is that Afghanistan has always been the home of the bravest women in the world. You are all brave women. You are all inheritors of the courage of Malali." (Ch.2 Pg.61)

This to me shows just how much bravery and courage Parvana's father saw within her and Nooria. In such a rough part of the world people need to be brave to survive, and to make sure they could be brave he told them the tales of "Malali: The Bravest Woman in Afghanistan". This aspect of the book seems to be highly under-rated, as without Parvana's father telling his daughters that they were strong, and that they could be independent it is highly likely that Parvana wouldn't have been able to do what she did in the novel. 


Malali wouldn't be afraid, Parvana knew. Malali would form an army and lead it in a storming of the prison. Malali would lick her lips at such a challenge. Her knees wouldn't be shaking as Parvana's were. If Parvana's mother was scared, she didn't show it. She marched straight up to the prison gates and said to the guard, "I'm here for my husband." (Ch.3 Pg.44-45)

Malali was Parvana's hero, and when she needed to be brave she looked to her. This time however Parvana struggled to find Malali's courage and instead found courage in perhaps the strongest woman she knew; her Mother. In this moment her mother went from being her parent, to being her late role model. To me this showed that mother was not just a blank slate in the novel but a dynamic character, not just to the story but also to Parvana's life.


When she came to the shop that sold tea, rice and other groceries, she hesitated for a slight moment, then walked boldly through the door. I'm a boy, she kept saying to herself. It gave her courage. (Ch.6 Pg.64)

I find this one quote to be very relatable. We all find ourselves in situations where we don't feel confident in what we're doing, and sometimes the only thing we need to assert confidence in ourselves, is self reassurance. Once you get into a confident head space there's nothing you can't do, getting into this head space however may just be the hardest thing to do.