Congratulations Tabasum Wolayat on being awarded the Irene Hilgers Prize for the article “Songs of War and Despair: Two Afghan/Uzbek Women’s Life History and Lament” published in the academic journal Central Asian Survey.
The editors’ stated “The author’s presentation and analysis of these women’s lives and laments is nuanced and careful; it allows us to understand their life experiences deeply. At the same time, the article embeds these heartfelt lyrical expressions in the global political context of war and strife which have so plagued Afghanistan for the last four decades, never losing site of the bigger political picture. The argument the author makes is extremely well grounded in the theoretical discussions and the methodology is impeccable. It is also very well written and argued. I simply loved this piece and learned so much. It is excellent!”