SHIRIN

Taqi Bakhtyari

A new Australian novel tells the story of a young Hazara woman who risks everything to challenge both the Taliban and her community’s mores, with author Taqi Bakhtyari drawing on his own experience of exile and discrimination.

SHIRIN (Palaver 2026) follows the courage of Aghai, a Muslim Hazara girl who dares to love beyond rigid boundaries and questions the unyielding decrees that govern her world. Her spirit, kindled by the ancient verses of Omar Khayyam, dances on the edge of rebellion, seeking freedom in a world scarred by violence, domestic tyranny and the erasure of memory.

Grounded entirely in real events, the story draws on acts of persecution against Hazara civilians to explore the tensions of minority life in multicultural societies, both in Afghanistan and Australia.