Malalai: The Afghan Joan of Arc

The Brave Girl Who Defeated British Empire. A Historical Novel. Inspired by True Story

De: Farid Mostamand

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

In the rugged hills of 19th-century Afghanistan, where tradition binds and foreign powers threaten to dominate, one young girl dares to rise against the tide of history.

Malalai is not like other girls in her village. At seventeen, her spirit burns brighter than the constraints of tradition, and her heart beats with the fierce love of her homeland. Raised on the stories of her grandfather, a veteran of the First Anglo-Afghan War, Malalai dreams not of marriage and domestic life but of freedom, justice, and resistance. When the British invaded Afghanistan in 1878, threatening to strip her people of their sovereignty, Malalai's quiet defiance turned into an unstoppable force.

As her village wrestles with fear, division, and betrayal—fueled by British manipulation—Malalai finds courage in the face of despair. Secretly penning landays, powerful two-line poems, she inspires her people with words that cut more profoundly than any sword. But when her beloved Zulmy, her childhood friend and fiancé, is wounded in the Battle of Maiwand, Malalai's bravery transcends poetry.

Grabbing the fallen Afghan flag, she climbs a hill under a storm of gunfire, shouting her now legendary landay:
"Young love! If you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand,
By God, someone is saving you for shame!"

Her defiant cry reignites the spirit of the Afghan fighters, turning the tide of battle and etching her name into history as The Afghan Joan of Arc.

A stirring tale of love, sacrifice, and patriotism, Malalai: The Afghan Joan of Arc is a tribute to a young woman whose courage became the heart of a nation's resistance—and whose legacy continues to inspire generations.