Zarifa Ghafari a trois ans quand les talibans interdisent aux filles afghanes d'aller à l'école, six lorsque les forces aériennes américaines frappent pour la première fois. À vingt-quatre ans, alors qu'elle est devenue la première maire d'une des provinces les plus conservatrices du pays, les extrémistes barrent l'accès à son bureau, tentent de la tuer trois fois. Malgré cela, Zarifa tient bon, lutte contre la corruption, oeuvre pour la paix et tente d'éduquer les femmes. Mais à l'arrivée des talibans à Kaboul en 2021, et après l'assassinat de son père, elle fuit en Europe. Et continue d'aider celles qui sont restées. Son témoignage, inoubliable, incarne la résistance des Afghanes face à l'obscurantisme.
Zarifa a obtenu le Prix international de la femme de courage 2020, le Prix Nord-Sud 2021 du Conseil de l'Europe, ainsi que le Prix international des droits de la femme 2022 du Sommet de Genève.
Zarifa Ghafari impressionne par son énergie et son autorité. Julien Rousset, Sud Ouest.
L'Afghanistan a un visage, et ce n'est pas celui des talibans. Barbares et tyranniques, ils renvoient au passé quand Zarifa Ghafari, elle, incarne l'avenir. Gaëtane Morin, Le Parisien week-end.
Traduit de l'anglais (Royaume-Uni) par Isabelle Crouzet et Joëlle Wintrebert.
''Essential reading for anyone interested in Turkey and its future'' Literary Review ''Essential reading full stop'' Peter Frankopan ''It is a must'' The Times Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and how did he lead a democracy on the fringe of Europe into dictatorship? How has chaos in the Middle East blown back over Turkey''s borders? And why doesn''t the West just cut off Erdogan and his regime? Offering extraordinary, eye-opening insight into a country that often hides its cards, Hannah Lucinda Smith combines a history of modern Turkey with close-up studies of its mercurial leader, its tumultuous politics and the broader political currents playing across Europe.
''Essential reading for anyone interested in Turkey and its future.'' Literary Review ''Essential reading full stop.'' Peter Frankopan ''It is a must.'' The Times Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and how did he lead a democracy on the fringe of Europe into dictatorship? How has chaos in the Middle East blown back over Turkey''s borders? And why doesn''t the West just cut Erdogan and his regime off?
Hannah Lucinda Smith has been living in Turkey as the Times correspondent for nearly a decade, reporting on the ground from the onset of the Arab Spring through terrorist attacks, mass protests, civil war, unprecedented refugee influx and the explosive, bloody 2016 coup attempt that threatened to topple - and kill - Erdogan.
Erdogan Rising introduces Turkey as a vital country, one that borders and buffers Western Europe, the Middle East and the old Soviet Union, marshals the second largest army in NATO and hosts more refugees than any other nation. As president, Erdogan is the face of devotion and division, a leader who mastered macho divide-and-rule politics a decade and a half before Donald Trump cottoned on, and has used it to lead his country into spiralling authoritarianism.
Yet Erdogan is no ordinary dictator. His elections are won only by slivers, and Turkey remains defined by its two warring cults: those who worship Erdogan, the wilful Muslim nationalist with a tightening authoritarian grip, and those who stand behind Ataturk, the secularist, westward-looking leader who founded the republic and remains its best loved icon - now eighty years dead.
Erdogan commands a following so devoted they compose songs in his honour, adorn their homes with his picture, and lay down their lives to keep him in power. Erdogan Rising asks how this century''s most successful populist won his position, and where Turkey is headed next.
