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My Beautiful Sisters

A Memoir of Courage, Hope, and the Afghan Women's Soccer Team

Author Khalida Popal

Hardcover

$29.00 US

Kensington | Citadel

5.73"W x 8.53"H x 0.8"D (14.6 x 21.7 x 2.0 cm) | 11 oz (318 g) | 36 per carton

On sale May 27, 2025 | 224 Pages | 9780806544526

Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt

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Nonfiction > Biography & Memoir
Nonfiction > Sports

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Argo meets The Bookseller of Kabul in this incredible memoir from the Afghan women’s soccer pioneer turned activist and feminist icon who has helped save more than 350 female soccer players from the dangerous rule of the Taliban.

“Riveting, heart-wrenching and incredibly important . . . an inspirational story for girls and women everywhere.” —MALALA YOUSAFZAI, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

A 2025 GREAT GROUP READS SELECTION BY THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION

A story of survival, sisterhood and the fight for feminism in the age of the Taliban.

In August 2021, Kabul fell under the control of the Taliban, a militant political and fundamentalist religious faction. For Khalida Popal, it signaled the beginning of the most important battle of an already extraordinary young life—to get female soccer players out of a city where they faced imminent threat of execution simply for playing sports.

Khalida first began playing soccer in a refugee camp in Pakistan after her parents fled Taliban rule. Returning to Afghanistan, she fell deeper in love with the freedom and comradeship soccer provides. As co-founder and first captain of the Afghan women’s soccer team, Khalida began using sports to empower young women, and was subjected to intensifying death threats in return.

Hounded out of her own country, she continued to support the Afghan women’s team, founding the organization Girl Power and exposing widespread sexual abuse of players. From her new home in Denmark, she watched Kabul fall and immediately knew the risk to the players still there. Assembling a small but mighty network of international allies, she began evacuating women whose lives were at risk simply for loving the sport she had done so much to promote. Her teammates. Her sisters.

My Beautiful Sisters is a gripping, important memoir, and a compulsively readable one—a harrowing yet ultimately heartening story of survival and sisterhood.

Praise for My Beautiful Sisters

"Riveting, heart-wrenching and incredibly important. My Beautiful Sisters shows us the value of raising our voices in the face of injustice, the ability of sport to unite us all and the strength we have when we stand together. This is an inspirational story for girls and women everywhere, but essential reading for everyone." —MALALA YOUSAFZAI, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Khalida Popal, a prominent figure in Afghan women's soccer, not only served as the captain and played a pivotal role in establishing the Afghanistan National Women’s Football Team but also stands out as the founder and director of the Girl Power Organization. In addition to her accomplishments on the field, Popal holds the position of Program and Event Director for the Afghanistan Women's National Football Team and serves as the Purpose Lead for Right to Dream Organization.

Her commitment goes beyond national boundaries as she contributes to global initiatives, holding a significant role as a UNHCR Global Refugee Forum Sport Pledge reference group member. Beyond her sporting achievements, Popal is a captivating Public Speaker, a mentor at the Women Sport Leadership Academy, and a consultant dedicated to fostering the inclusion and integration of refugees.

Khalida Popal View titles by Khalida Popal

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Not available for sale:

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• Cocos Islands

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• Gibraltar

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• Guyana

• India

• Ireland

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• Jamaica

• Jersey

• Kenya

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• Malawi

• Malaysia

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• Mauritius

• Montserrat

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• Namibia

• Nauru

• New Zealand

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• Pitcairn Islnds

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• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Solomon Islands

• Somalia

• South Africa

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• Tuvalu

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About

Praise

Author

Khalida Popal View titles by Khalida Popal

Rights

Available for sale exclusive:

• Canada

• Guam

• Minor Outl.Ins.

• North Mariana

• Philippines

• Puerto Rico

• Samoa,American

• US Virgin Is.

• USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:

• Afghanistan

• Aland Islands

• Albania

• Algeria

• Andorra

• Angola

• Anguilla

• Antarctica

• Argentina

• Armenia

• Aruba

• Austria

• Azerbaijan

• Bahrain

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Benin

• Bhutan

• Bolivia

• Bonaire, Saba

• Bosnia Herzeg.

• Bouvet Island

• Brazil

• Bulgaria

• Burkina Faso

• Burundi

• Cambodia

• Cameroon

• Cape Verde

• Centr.Afr.Rep.

• Chad

• Chile

• China

• Colombia

• Comoro Is.

• Congo

• Cook Islands

• Costa Rica

• Croatia

• Cuba

• Curacao

• Czech Republic

• Dem. Rep. Congo

• Denmark

• Djibouti

• Dominican Rep.

• Ecuador

• Egypt

• El Salvador

• Equatorial Gui.

• Eritrea

• Estonia

• Ethiopia

• Faroe Islands

• Finland

• France

• Fren.Polynesia

• French Guinea

• Gabon

• Georgia

• Germany

• Greece

• Greenland

• Guadeloupe

• Guatemala

• Guinea Republic

• Guinea-Bissau

• Haiti

• Heard/McDon.Isl

• Honduras

• Hong Kong

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Indonesia

• Iran

• Iraq

• Israel

• Italy

• Ivory Coast

• Japan

• Jordan

• Kazakhstan

• Kuwait

• Kyrgyzstan

• Laos

• Latvia

• Lebanon

• Liberia

• Libya

• Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macau

• Macedonia

• Madagascar

• Maldives

• Mali

• Marshall island

• Martinique

• Mauritania

• Mayotte

• Mexico

• Micronesia

• Moldavia

• Monaco

• Mongolia

• Montenegro

• Morocco

• Myanmar

• Nepal

• Netherlands

• New Caledonia

• Nicaragua

• Niger

• Niue

• Norfolk Island

• North Korea

• Norway

• Oman

• Palau

• Palestinian Ter

• Panama

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Poland

• Portugal

• Qatar

• Reunion Island

• Romania

• Russian Fed.

• Rwanda

• Saint Martin

• San Marino

• SaoTome Princip

• Saudi Arabia

• Senegal

• Serbia

• Singapore

• Sint Maarten

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Korea

• South Sudan

• Spain

• St Barthelemy

• St.Pier,Miquel.

• Sth Terr. Franc

• Sudan

• Suriname

• Svalbard

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Syria

• Tadschikistan

• Taiwan

• Thailand

• Timor-Leste

• Togo

• Tokelau Islands

• Tunisia

• Turkey

• Turkmenistan

• Ukraine

• Unit.Arab Emir.

• Uruguay

• Uzbekistan

• Vatican City

• Venezuela

• Vietnam

• Wallis,Futuna

• West Saharan

• Western Samoa

• Yemen

Not available for sale:

• Antigua/Barbuda

• Australia

• Bahamas

• Bangladesh

• Barbados

• Belize

• Bermuda

• Botswana

• Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter

• Brit.Virgin Is.

• Brunei

• Cayman Islands

• Christmas Islnd

• Cocos Islands

• Cyprus

• Dominica

• Falkland Islnds

• Fiji

• Gambia

• Ghana

• Gibraltar

• Grenada

• Guernsey

• Guyana

• India

• Ireland

• Isle of Man

• Jamaica

• Jersey

• Kenya

• Kiribati

• Lesotho

• Malawi

• Malaysia

• Malta

• Mauritius

• Montserrat

• Mozambique

• Namibia

• Nauru

• New Zealand

• Nigeria

• Pakistan

• PapuaNewGuinea

• Pitcairn Islnds

• S. Sandwich Ins

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Solomon Islands

• Somalia

• South Africa

• Sri Lanka

• St. Helena

• St. Lucia

• St. Vincent

• St.Chr.,Nevis

• Swaziland

• Tanzania

• Tonga

• Trinidad,Tobago

• Turks&Caicos Is

• Tuvalu

• Uganda

• United Kingdom

• Vanuatu

• Zambia

• Zimbabwe

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June 10 2026

My Beautiful Sisters

A Memoir of Courage, Hope, and the Afghan Women's Soccer Team

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Soccer Reads Ahead of the World Cup

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My Beautiful Sisters

A Memoir of Courage, Hope, and the Afghan Women's Soccer Team

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