19 January 2010 - IRIN today launches Veil of Tears, a 60-page colour booklet collecting personal stories from ordinary Afghans on suffering and loss in pregnancy and childbirth. Few families have not been touched by tragic experiences of childbirth in Afghanistan, where maternal mortality is among the highest in the world. Download PDF

The stories have been transcribed from radio interviews in local languages Dari and Pashto, and were originally broadcast in IRIN radio programmes in Afghanistan. The booklet brings to the fore the voices of ordinary Afghans, women, men and children. One chapter entitled “I hate the snow” brings the rarely reported perspective of a 12-year old child, who saw his mother dying in childbirth in their remote mountain village.

The collection bears testament not only to Afghans’ suffering, but also to their strong desire for better health services, education and infrastructure to be able to improve their lives and the future for their children.