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[inaudible] said thank you for coming out here today. my name is sean a butler. i am an advisor focused on health care, viewership and economic developme. ani >> i'm really thrilled to have sha with us today. today. .. >> her work focused on what she decided to do was go to afghanistan because consistently afghanistan has been named the worst place in the world to be a woman. in her 19 trips there, she has been focused on building capacity around maternal, around

the midwife programs that look at maternal and fetal wellan being, andd she's also beeno working on reading programs for, that are focused on thems daughters of the women who have beenha imprisoned, specifically around their charge of adultery. and her most recent adventure, she's also done art projects and a lot of other things, but she's been using the buick as a social justice -- the bike as a social justice tool. actively working e afghan national women's cycling team in producing a documentary on all of that called afghan cycles. so, shannon, thank you for coming to the texas book festival. we're so thrilled to have you here. [applause] >> thanks for having me here. this is actually my first time in austin, and i had no idea how amazing this festival was. you guys are so incredibly lucky to have this in your backyard. i'm incredibly honored to be

here. >> so i thoroughly enjoyed reading this. and your writing is raw, it's gritty, it goes to some places that are really difficult to read at times. one of the things -- actually, by show of hands, who is here because they were interested in the women's rights? what other elements would you like to know about the audience? >> who's here because of women's rights? yeah, all right, that's good. who's here because of the bike? [laughter] who's here because of afghanistan? interesting. okay, good. >> and who was wondering if they are in the wrong place at this point? [laughter] >> one. oh. you're on the end, though, you're good. you can take off. what's interesting to me is why only, like, maybe half of you raised your hands when i said who's here for women's rights, because one thing i guess i have really tried to get across in the book is women's rights is a human rights issue. everyone here, male or female, has a mother.

something i'm trying to get through that, this is not a women's issue, this is a human rights issue. >> one of the things i fought pass phasing was -- fascinating, one of the things national geographic puts on their adventures, and they're all extreme, and they denote them by their pursuit. so it's listed as ultra runner, surfer, biker, base jumper. and yours has the designation of humanitarian. >> yeah. i'm actually incredibly touched by that, because they -- national geographic chooses ten adventurers around the world every year, and they didn't choose me because i was the first person to mountain bike, they choose me because of my work and because of my humanitarian work. and to be in the same category as felix baumgartner who jumped from space, pretty amazing. >> how many women were in that selection? >> two. >> two, yeah. >> so it was pretty extraordinary. >> one of the things that you write about early on is the influences. and we're at a writing festival,

a book festival. and i think it's really fascinating that you were drawn to this work for two reasons. one, your own personal, but also the writings of others, jack jacqueline -- [inaudible] in particular, her work around a blue sweater. what about that writing, i mean, i'm just warning you when you read it, you might be joining her in afghanistan. but what about jacqueline's writing? >> jacqueline was fascinating to me because i had just started working in afghanistan, and i had been reading a lot of nonfiction books. i'm fascinated with the work of others in the humanitarian and activism fields, i'm fascinated by world travelers and adventurers, and what the blue sweater really did that no other book i had read does in a very easy-to-read, beautiful literal story was talk about the mistakes. we don't talk enough about the mistakes and that journey of, in my case, of becoming an activist. and i find that really fascinating because it's not this golden escalator that when

you decide to become an activist or humanitarian or a national geographic adventurer of the year all of a sudden from point a i'm living my life in colorado with my daughter, and all of a sudden, boom, i'm here. it's a lot of blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice and an enormous amount of mistakes along the way. and i love that the blue sweater really talked about those mistakes. and allowed me and others to learn from them and not reinvent the wheel every time. >> it sounds like your first trip on the mountain bike wasn't exactly as you had planned. >> no. [laughter] >> yeah. so -- >> incredibly difficult. >> but what i would love for you to do is to share -- because of the way you've taken, i mean, jacqueline's work and your own personal experience really helped you to take a very up close, personal, hands-on approach, and it's given you access in ways that other people haven't. and i would love for you to read a portion of your experience of visiting women in the candle

hard prison -- kandahar prison. so the kandahar prison was where i met a woman who has become a symbol of everything i strive for. she was accused of killing the son of her husband's other wife. he blamed her, she denied it. a game of he said/she said. but regardless, she was the fifth wife of her husband. he was 65, and she was 20. and she had been married to him for four years, married off when she was only 16. she told me that his first three wives were dead, all killed by his beating and fond use of knives, and she shyly pulled up her sleeves into showed me scars as if someone had used her knife as a -- arm as a knife sharpener. the women seemed to have formed a sisterhood. they slept, ate and, when allowed, studied together, and they raised their children

communeally. i'd asked several women be they felt safer in prison, and many replied that they did. and while i couldn't imagine the oppressive loss of freedom as anything less than a death sentence, these women often had very few freedoms outside of prison, so the loss of freedom perhaps wasn't much of a loss when compared to the protection from their husbands. the hardest part of prison for many women was the separation from their children, as only very young children typically remained with their mother, and that, too, i keenly felt; the notion of not being able to see my daughter, devon, because i'd been raped was mind blowing. >> your access, i'm frequently prized and stunned -- surprised and stunned. how is it, first of all, i can't imagine asking to be taken into a woman's prison in afghanistan -- >> there are times i've wondered if i would be let back out. >> that's what i was going to

ask. how have you been able to negotiate and build these trust-based relationships? because you have access to the men and the women, and often down the -- up and down the hierarchy as well as laterally. how have you been able to do that? >> it's within a really interesting situation, being a foreign woman working in afghanistan. i get asked a lot if, you know, being tall and blond and, obviously, standing out works against me, makes me more of a target. and, actually, it's the thing that has given me the most access. and if you talk with a foreign journalist, any female journalist i've spoken to in afghanistan that has worked there or pakistan has said exactly the same thing. being a foreign woman makes me uniquely qualified and uniquely situated to do the work that i do, because a foreign woman is considered gender-neutral. i am not a woman when i'm in afghanistan. i am not a man, but i am considered an honorary man. and the men treat me as an

equal. and so i have full access to the gatekeepers. at the same time, because i am a woman and not an actual man, i have full access to the women. and so i get to hear both sides of the story which often are radically different. and it gives me the ability to do my work where i'm fighting for women and girls, it gives me a unique access point because men that are gatekeepers, the men that make the decisions as to what can or cannot happen for their wives, their daughters, their sisters treat me as an equal. and we can make those plans ourselves. it's just i also get the context of the women's perspective. >> so in particular your work is about giving voice. and what i'm really curious about and, i think, probably a lot of folks are. when you have access to the women and they obviously give you a private space, so you are there, the brothers, all of the

men aren't around -- >> no. >> -- and you actually get to have that really interesting girl talk. >> uh-huh. >> what do they ask you? >> so a great example is same family i've visited many times out in the mountains in the panshir valley, i've always had either a male translator because that's easier to travel with, there's very few female translators, or a male member of the family, an older son who's in high school who wants to practice his english. and we would talk about family, you know, my daughter, their families, the region, what i do, very benign, safe conversations. and the same family that i stayed with two years later i had a female translator with me by complete fluke. and i didn't think anything of it. she was with me for a three or four-day journey. and we go back, meet the women, have tea with all of the kids. there's three -- sorry, four wives, two grandmothers and then all the children.

they see i have a female afghan with me, and they boot out all of the kids. only the girls get to stay. none of the toddlers, nothing. if you're a boy, you're out. and they just shoo them out, sit down, and before my tea is poured -- and this is a country where there's just so many layers of -- >> ritual? >> yeah, rituals and hellos and greetings. the first question they ask me, i'm taking a sip of tea is, are you on birth control? and i almost spit out my tea. [laughter] and i looked over at my translator, and i was like, no, they didn't ask me that. she's like, yeah, what they asked. [laughter] and we had this incredible conversation about family planning, the health of mothers, what kind of birth control i was on, what are options. and they had been, they had been told by the local midwife that, you know, birth control was available. but there's a lot of misconception around it. and it's really becoming something quite new, that

doctors and midwives are advocating for it. because it helps spread out how many children the women have and keeps them healthier. other side, they're having them back to back to back, and the children and mothers are very sick. be but they're limited information. >> you mentioned in your book abdomen billboards. >> oh, yeah. >> what do they saysome what are they promoting? >> there was a billboard that was over an entrance point, kind of like a police checkpoint, and i asked my translator at that time what it said, and it was basically promoting space between births. men, don't knock up your wives as soon as she's had a baby. give her a little time. let her have some space, let the child get one-on-one time, breast-feeding, you know, things like that. and, you know, having to really educate that having more children because you're worried your children will die is not the best solution. actually, spacing them out creates a healthier family.

>> so, okay. one of the other things, too, is that you're hitting on some really culturally challenging topics. >> yeah. >> and you're training as a dancer and all these other things. you seem so well suited for your role. how is it that you have learned to navigate the cultural differences safely? >> well, i give a huge amount of credit to my translator and my fixer, najibullah. it's interesting that one of the key components of the work that i do, my knowledge of afghanistan, my knowledge of navigating the culture as a foreign woman, where i can push boundaries, where i can't really comes down to men. afghan men that believe in the work that i'm doing, that want a better future for their country, for their wifes, for their -- wives, for their daughters, and they support the work i do. i always find that really fascinating. often baf began men are labeled as the oppress sores.

that's not wrong, but it's also not the full truth. there are an incredible number of men that want a better future for their entire family and are incredibly supportive of the work that i do, and i owe them everything. >> that's a good segway into the cycling. so the, actually, that's been driven can by the coach of the men's team. >> uh-huh. >> so i want you to share your first experience of mountain biking and then lead us through how that ended up, how you ended up with the women's national cycling team. if you wouldn't mind sharing -- >> yeah. >> -- your very first experience with cycling. >> and to give a quick segway of this, this is a country where women have never been allowed to ride bikes. it's one of the few countries in the world. i don't know if you follow what's going on in saudi arabia with the driving and bicycle ban, it's the same situation in afghanistan. this is a country where girls have never been allowed to ride bikes, which is why i did it.

[laughter] my heart pounded. i focused downhill, picking a line through the rubble, i steadied my nerves and took a deep breath. i gripped my handlebars and tried to keep my bike upright. the school and the open court yard sat at the base of the mountain, a sexual white oasis -- small white oasis in the sea of brown. i let the speed take me through. shades of brown rushed by in a blur as i picked up speed. i bent my elbows deeper to allow my arms to absorb the bouncing, my teeth chattered and my tires searched more solid ground. dust stung my eyes, my hair was sweaty and plastered to my head under my checkered head scarf. my heart pounded even harder whether from fear, exertion or the layers of clothing i wore, i wasn't entirely sure. but suddenly the tires stopped sliding, and i was on level, solid ground. the mountain had spat me out

alive, and as if a mute button was released, sound flooded my ears; cheering. 600 boys were cheering. i looked up for the first time since i'd started my descent and smiled in relief through the crowd of dust. 600 afghan boys smiled back, and one threw a rock. [laughter] 600 to 1? i'll take those odds. in a remote village in the heart of the panshir mountains, 600 boys, the teachers and a few random individual allers had just -- villagers had just watched a woman ride a mountain bike behind their schoolyard. what they maybe didn't realize was they had just witnessed the first time any woman had mountain biked in afghanistan. i didn't go there planning to ride a mountain bike. does anyone travel to a war zone and think to themselves, i wish i had remembered to pack my mountain bike, helmet and lycra? yeah, no, they probably don't. but on my fourth trip in 2009, i

had decided to bring my tangerine 9-er 29-single speed and challenge the gender barrier that prevents women from riding bikes. afghanistan is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't allow women or girls to ride. but i'm not afghan. standing at 5-9 with long blond hair, i am clearly not local. while many back home assume being so obviously a foreigner is an inherent risk, it has become my biggest asset. a foreign woman here is a hybrid gender, an honorary man, a status that allowed me unique insight into a very complicated region. >> that was great. [applause] >> thank you. and just a little bit of a spoiler, the very first time that she was putting the bike together, it didn't go quite as -- [laughter] >> no. i actually, the worst injury i've ever had in afghanistan was putting my bike together in the courtyard right before that ride. and i clothes lined myself and

split my eye open riding my bike to make sure i had built it right. >> i really admire the fact that after that in the courtyard, you would -- >> yeah, exactly. it's not land mines, it's clotheslines. [laughter] >> so sports are not foreign to women in afghanistan. >> uh-huh i. >> but what is it about the bike -- first of all, why is it such a taboo? >> there's two reasons that the bike is so taboo in afghanistan and why women have never been allowed to ride, and one is the fact that you're straddling a bike seat. motorcycles, horses, bikes, women ride side saddle on the back. but more importantly, you can get past that controversy, more importantly it's that the bike is independent travel. so in a country that's repeatedly reactioned the most -- ranked the most oppressively treated in the world, the last thing men are going to allow is freedom. it literally means freedom for women. >> and you've written quite

extensively how afghanistan is not the first ones to address the women and the biking issue. >> yeah. it's fascinating to me because as i started to dive into this and really trying to understand why, what is the taboo, how deep does that go, does a foreign woman starting to ride, can that ripple out? and time and time again when you look at this country and say, well, you know, these women are being insulted, rocks are slingshotted, why is it so controversial? when i started looking back to the women's suffrage movement in the u.s., women who started riding bikes at the turn of the century, late 1800s, petticoats buttoned up underneath their necks, they were labeled promisous and immoral. and has been replicated in, you know, in britain, in france, basically everywhere women have started to ride bikes, we've turned over the apple cart, you know? it shakes things up.

and it scares, you know, the men that women are going to be able to go wherever they want, however they want. and so it's fascinating to me that parallel is there. it's a century spread, but whenever women have started to ride bikes, it has rocked the world. >> it scares some men, and others have embraced that. i think one of the unsung heroes here are these young women who are racing on the team, man, this is really tough. i mean, you tried riding here in austin -- >> i did. >> you found out how hard it is. but it's their fathers and their brothers who have been supporting them. and sometimes they're at as great a risk if not many so than the women. >> definitely. yeah, the women who take these risks whether that's on a bike, whether that's women running for parliament and political office, whether it's just girls going to school, their fathers and their brothers are key. when they support and allow and encourage these girl, they really are the unsung heroes.

and i think that's something where, again, women's rights is not a women's issue, a human right's issue. and the -- human rights issue. the men in afghanistan that support women are by far my biggest heroes. >> the other thing i found fascinating is you, unlike other sports -- say swimming or any of these others -- it doesn't have the same economic impact or well being of the country. how has that happened, that women on bikes can radically change the outcome? >> what we've seen in countries throughout southeast asia and africa, bikes are literally a vehicle for social justice. bikes increase access to education in rural communities. bikes allow midwives to service a greater community and a broader base. and especially in countries like afghanistan where sexual harassment and violent attacks, gender violence is rampant, bikes literally are a tool to

fight gender violation. it's giving girls -- violence. it's giving girls transportation. so the bike is way more than a sport, and my hope in afghanistan is that the sport of cycling can normalize bikes for girls across the country so that we can use bikes as a social vehicle for justice. >> well, they've been getting an awful lot of international attention, this team, a lot of support. and as a matter of fact, the guardian today has a piece on them, and with the film that you're bringing. so with all the added attention, does it make them safer because eyes of the world are on them, or does can it make them a bigger target? >> this is a question i always navigate, because my worry is by highlighting the work of girls like this, are we putting them at more risk? and is that worth the potential benefit of more funding, more sustainability? and so i pose the question to the girls. i've put it on their plate. they're the ones taking the risk, how do you feel about

this? i keep it secret if you want it secret, we talk about it and share it if you want it shared. they are so proud of what they do, they want -- i mean, when we shared the stories that germany, you know, paper in germany covered them, that there was a tv story in france, that these girls are not just changing their families and their communities, but they're inspiring the world. that buoys them and, i think, gives them great hope that what they're doing is not just isolated in a bubble. >> well, the clip that's out on the afghan cyclists is really uplifting and inspiring and, boy, the risks that they take just -- and the story with one of riders how she was, basically -- what happened on the road where one of the drivers -- >> a motorcycle, yeah, a motorcycle targeted her. and, i mean, it's funny. you look at, i know stories from people who ride in texas getting run off the road. it's dangerous to be a cyclist. doesn't matter gender or

geography. but you amplify it in a country where these are the first girls to ever ride bikes, they're doing it on afghan highways because it's the only roads that are paved, and you've got truck drivers and, you know, all manner of traffic. and remember, this is a country where probably 90%, i would say is a safe number, of drivers do not have driver's licenses. [laughter] it's a little crazy. i'm petrified riding on the road when i train with these girls. but they constantly come back with this phrase which i think is incredibly important, and this is what i look at whenever i share their story and whenever we talk about the work that is possible in countries like afghanistan; change does not happen by playing it safe. these girls know the risks that they take just as young girls who walk to school in kandahar risk an acid attack. they know if they stay home, nothing changes. and every afghan politician, every afghan activist, every afghan cyclist says the same

thing. would i want my 9-year-old daughter to walk to school and know that she might get attacked just for going to school? no. but that was the situation and the roles were reversed and geography was switched and we were the ones in afghanistan, i would hope that others encouraged her to go to school and fought for her the way i try to fight for them. >> and you do take a lot of personal risks, and you do that in your writing, you do a lot of things where you've revealed some of the risks that you've taken. and one of the things that i'm not sure people really appreciate is the amount of financial risk you've taken. >> oh, yeah. >> this isn't financed through the gates foundation. [laughter] >> no. >> you're open for business. >> no. i sold my home. i gave up my house, i gave up -- i took out a lone against my car, which i owned. i have leveraged every last asset, sold whatever i could.

and doing this while having a daughter, knowing at some point i'm going to have to pay for a college education. but that i knew i needed to do this work. and until it's fully funded, that i needed to sacrifice to do this. and my family has also been amazing because the last trip this spring we had 60 brand new racing bikes to bring over for the girls' expect men's team, and i did not have the $50,000 to ship the bikes. we had $150,000 of bikes and brand new equipment donated, and my sister leveraged it on her credit card for me. i meaning it's a family affair. >> it really is. well, if there are questions from the audience, if you want to go ahead and line up, and we will open that up. the other thing that i found really fascinating is how you are managing this logistically. because 19 trips to to afghanistan means that you're not here, and you have a young daughter. you're doing this work on behalf

of all the daughters, but you've got one in particular. how to you manage this logistically? >> well, in one case i'm incredibly lucky. her father and i co-parent, so we have 50/50 parenting, and i'm incredibly lucky to have his support. she's with a parent, not with a grandparent. to me, it makes all the difference where are i'm traveling. yeah, i live in the mountains of breckenridge. logistically, it is a nightmare to do the work, but it is completely worth the planes, trains and automobiles to make this happen and horses and bikes and motorcycles and donkeys. [laughter] >> looks like we've got -- hi. >> hi. i wonder over 19 trips to afghanistan, i wonder what are the things that you have taken away from after began culture that we may not -- afghan culture that we may not realize that maybe surprised you the most? and also how have you seen the change over time, if at all?

>> i'd say that the majority of the changes that i've seen in afghanistan have been -- actually, let me take that back. you surprised me. it's a country full of incredibly sweet, kind people who are incredibly hospitable. i've never been so welcomed as i have been in afghanistan. and i think that goes against the norm of what we assume. and i have a good friend who works in security there and who says, you know, a nation of incredibly sweet people living across an incredibly messed-up backdrop of violence and war. and the changes in particular for where my passion is, women, women have made incredible strides over the last decade. there are more women in school, more women running for politics, in politics, there's even women lawyers, doctors. there's -- and now we have the very first cycling team. there's been incredible progress for women. the danger is that we see security potentially sliding back

.. well, and that means that women on the front lines. they are most at risk for the back sweep of security. >> a quick question. one is, how'd you get started? we've heard the middle and the end, but how'd you get started? the second is, has there been any contact with the u.s. government in afghanistan during your time there? >> so i have not contacted the u.s. government. i've gone to the embassy once in 19 visits. i do have occasionally e-mails from men who are in special forces, navy seals, the brits, the swedes, international forces that are there that reach out in support of the work that i'm doing, but i have not done any work in conjunction with the u.s. government. and in terms of how i got how i got darted, the nutshell version is i myself am the victim of jennifer violence.

i was rape end when i was 19. my sister was rained and i'm a mother. woke up one morning and realized the world has got to change and i need to be part of that. [applause] >> part of my question was taken by the previous -- but he didn't tough the other part, and that is, h any international ngos done any reachout to you and more importantly than the u.s. government, has the u.s. state department bothered to contact you in any form or fashion -- >> not that i know of. >> you ain't telling. >> no, not that i know of. i'm sure that - when i come back through, after 19 visits, but i really have not -- >> you mean united states fso has never bothered to pick up

the telephone and call you -- >> no. >> no. >> nope. but the work that i'm doing -- i travel in afghanistan as one woman. i don't travel with security. i work with my translator when i'm there. occasionally have a photographer that i'll work with when i'm there. but it is very much an individual sort of situation, and most ngos working in afghanistan have security and convoys and live in compounds. so i work incredibly differently that allows me the access i have. >> the rest of the world hears this that you have been selected by national geographic magazine as one of the ten most whatevers and nobody has bothered from the united states government to pick 'the telephone and give you a call. >> no. but maybe now that it's on c-span they will. >> i'm not holding my breath. >> me neither.

>> i'm wondering what we can do to help you in this? >> thank you. there's two things. one of them is not directly for me but i think that what i'm trying to get through, when i wrote this book, besides sharing these stories and opening up the conversation about the choices we make as mothers, as women, is also looking at individual action, and the belief that one person can make a difference does not mean that you need to sell your home and upchurn everything in your life. it means you can take individual actions in your community to create change. that to me is the biggest takeaway. in terms of supporting my work and the work of these amazing afghan women, my organization is mountain to mountain, with the number two. mountain 2 mountain.org and that talks about the work i do and have done. they're a donate button. we need support for women who

risk their lives to change their communities, and that change does not happen on rainbows and unicorns. it happens with money being plugged in directly to those who can help and creating sustainable, long-term, generational programs that can change the world. >> shannon, we don't ever want you to go to afghanistan without your lycra. >> oh, very cool. >> so, texas bikes. actually what we need to do is get an afghan girl in this. >> they are proud to donate full cycling kits to the afghan women's national cycling. >> that fantastic. texas to afghanistan. >> thank you again. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for coming. [inaudible conversations]

>> visit her over there and buy her book and get her to sign it. thank you for joining us again. [inaudible conversations] roberto trotta explains the universe in the latest findings in cosmology using on the 1,000 most commonly used words in english. he spoke to commonwealth club of california in san francisco for about an hour. >> i now use my pleasure to introduce a distinguished speaker, doctors