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Deborah Rodriguez (writer)

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Deborah Rodriguez
BornDeborah Rodriguez
OccupationNovelist, hairdresser
NationalityAmerican
Period2007–present
GenreNon-fiction, biography/autobiography, memoir, realistic fiction
Notable worksKabul Beauty School
Website
deborahrodriguez.com

Deborah "Debbie" Rodriguez is an American writer, hairdresser, and humanitarian. She is noted for creating safe spaces that provide women with a way out of domestic violence and chaotic circumstances.

Biography

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In 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering aid after the fall of the Taliban. There, she helped found a beauty school that trained 200 women in the art of hairdressing, many of whom went on to run their own salons, giving them the opportunity to start their own business and provide for their families. She later opened a coffee shop in Kabul.[1][2]

In 2002, Rodriguez married an Afghan, Samer (Sam) Mohammad Abdul Khan, who worked for Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. At the time he had a wife in Saudi Arabia, who became pregnant with his eighth child while he was married to Rodriguez. The marriage with Rodriguez was reported as a happy one as late as April 2007,[3] but soon after, she had to flee Afghanistan.[4]

Rodriguez wrote two bestselling books based on her experiences in Afghanistan, The Kabul Beauty School and The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, as well as Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul.[5][6][7][4] At one point, Kabul Beauty School was slated to become a movie, with Sandra Bullock playing the lead.[4]

As of 2014, Rodriguez lives in Mazatlán, Mexico, where she is the owner of Tippy Toes Salon and Marrakesh Spa, and where she established Project Mariposa, providing funding for young women to attend beauty school, with the goal of helping them become independent and self-supporting. Margarita Wednesdays (The House on Carnaval Street), a book detailing her journey to remake her life after being forced to leave Afghanistan, was released in June 2014.[8] Her other books include the novels The Zanzibar Wife,[9][10] and The Moroccan Daughter.[11]

As of 2021, Rodriguez has been working to help 130 Afghans, including former staff and beauty school students, leave Afghanistan.[12] As the president of the non-profit Oasis Rescue, she is raising money to support efforts for Afghans who are seeking to leave the country, as well as those who have left and find themselves in need.[13][14]

Some controversy followed the publishing of Kabul Beauty School. Other women who were also involved at the founding of the Kabul Beauty School say the book is filled with inaccuracies and inconsistencies, that events did not unfold the way Rodriguez depicts them. Though it was acknowledged that some personal, place and organization names were changed in the book, and some chronological details adjusted.[15] Some of the women who worked at the beauty school said that, because of the publication of the book and the details it revealed about them, their lives had been put in danger. Some also claimed that Rodriguez had not made good on promises for financial support and other help.[4] However, Rodriguez claims that she was careful to protect the identities of the women mentioned in the book, and that they were all enthusiastic about telling their stories knowing that was the case.[16]

Publications

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Non-fiction

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  • Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil (1 January 2007, Hodder: ISBN 9780340935880)
  • Margarita Wednesdays: Making a New Life by the Mexican Sea (10 June 2014, Gallery Books: ISBN 9781476710679) (published as The House on Carnaval Street in some countries)

Fiction

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kerr, Euan (2014-01-20). "Lessons from a war-zone coffee shop". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
  2. ^ Caviezel, Mark (2021-08-25). "'They're Afraid': Kabul Beauty School Cofounder Details Her Harrowing Attempt To Help Evacuate Afghan Women". Citizens Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "People looked at me like I had three heads. You could see them thinking 'She's as crazy as a loon.' And it's true that I had no idea what I was doing". The Daily Telegraph. 2007-04-29. Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  4. ^ a b c d Nelson, Soraya Sarhaddi (2007-06-01). "Subjects of 'Kabul Beauty School' Face New Risks". NPR. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  5. ^ a b "The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez". Penguin Books Australia. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  6. ^ "Top 10 Australian Bestsellers of 2013". Random House Australia. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  7. ^ "Bestselling books of 2013: the chart". The Guardian. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  8. ^ "Margarita Wednesdays: A Memoir". Publishers Weekly. 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  9. ^ https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-zanzibar-wife-9780857988355 Island on the Edge of the World
  10. ^ "Island on the Edge of the World by Deborah Rodriguez". www.penguin.com.au.
  11. ^ "The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez". www.penguin.com.au.
  12. ^ Hopps, Kat (August 25, 2021). "Afghanistan: The women helping to save the girls the West has left behind". Express.co.uk.
  13. ^ Newsroom, M. D. P. (September 10, 2021). "Debby Rodriguez From Mazatlán helps rescue Afghans fleeing the Taliban regime -". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "Desde Mazatlán, Debby ayuda a rescatar a afganos que huyen del régimen talibán".
  15. ^ Ellin, Abby (2007-04-27). "Shades of Truth: An Account of a Kabul School Is Challenged". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  16. ^ "'Kabul Beauty School' offers inspiration for women". Embassy of Afghanistan. 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
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