Zoya grew up during the wars that ravaged Afghanistan and lost both her parents in a mujaheddin bombing raid on Kabul. She joined the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan which challenged the crushing edicts of the fanatical religious government and she made dangerous journeys back to her homeland to help the women oppressed by a rule that enforced the wearing of the stifling burqa, condoned public stoning if a woman ventured out without a male chaperone and absolutely forbade women s work. The spotlight that the New York terrorist attacks focused on Afghanistan highlighted the conditions of repression and fear in which Afghan women lived and makes Zoya s Story utterly compelling.