In her late twenties, Hamida married my grandfather, Abdul Ghafour Khan, who was also from a notable family of the Laghman province. They were deeply in love, and my mother recalls her parents’ open affection for one another. When my grandfather, a dashing and rising military star, left on assignment, my grandmother would write love poetry to him. Bibi Hamida Ghafour had a flair for language and poetry; her poetry, written in her native Pashto, and her writing would be recognised in publications across the nation. After her early death in 1960, at the age of 42, she would continue to be honoured in literary circles. In one article, Benawah, the minister for media and himself a renowned writer, wrote: ‘Lady Hamida is the intelligent daughter of Pachah Sahib Tigiri … In writing poetry, she was fluent and wrote with ease … Her poetry is dedicated to the love of her nation and reflects a profound love for her people … Her poetry speaks about her own destiny, and much of it is also directed at alleviating the subjugated position of Afghan women … Her poetry is sweet and smooth, and reveals her desire for the independence, progress, and freedom of her country. The combination of her profound views and her talent makes her a highly ranked writer of the nation.’
