"It's an old Afghan tradition that effectively permits families without a son to cross-dress one of their daughters to preserve the honor of the family" (vii).

Wow, I had no idea that this occurs in Afghanistan. It seems absolutely delusional that people in that culture can simply pretend that a girl is a boy just so she may perform tasks reserved for males. 

I had no idea that girls are often disguised as boys in Afghan families. What a crazy concept.

"They grew up as boys, they played with them, went to school, went shopping, they were free like them. And then one day their parents, the district mullah, their relatives, all tel them it's over, all of it" (ix).

I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up free then have everybody I know tell me that my entire identity is a lie and that I basically must stay indoors for the majority of the rest of my life.

"But they will never be women like the other women: they will live in the nostalgia of an ideal past...." (x).

I'm often hit with nostalgia, and I consider it to be one of the most interesting feelings that we experience. But for me, nostalgia isn't a super strong emotion; yes, I might get a little choked up thinking about how great a certain memory was, but it's a very ephemeral feeling. For a bacha posh, I'm sure that nostalgia is an immensely powerful emotion and they're forced to carry the dissapointment of not being free anymore everywhere they go. How awful.

Imagine being tortured with the memory of a life of freedom...

"I'd just met my first Russian soldier and felt, for the first time, the feeling of hatred. He hated me for what I was--an Afghan; I hated him for what he represented--the invader" (41).

I've always wondered why hatred flows so freely when an invader occupies another country. Watching documentaries about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, American soldiers have absolute hate and distrust for all the people they interact with, men, women, and children. I guess it has to do with the fact that peoples' lives are at risk. Either way, I can't imagine being in such a situation...