‘Books they love’: A Kabul graveyard library for two schoolgirls

Cousins Marzia (left) and Hajar Mohammadi, both 16, dreamed of becoming architects and writers. They were killed in a blast at a Kabul education centre in September 2022 [Photo courtesy of the Mohammadi family]

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Kabul, Afghanistan – One morning in early October last year, 16-year-old cousins Marzia and Hajar Mohammadi were laid to rest next to one another in a remote graveyard on the outskirts of Kabul. Among the roses on the girls’ graves, their grieving family members placed a few of the teenagers’ favourite books – a tribute to their love of reading.