Lyse Doucet Wins Women's Prize for Nonfiction with 'The Finest Hotel in Kabul'

A Journalist's Lifelong Connection to Afghanistan

Lyse Doucet first arrived in Kabul on Christmas Day 1988, as Soviet troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan after a decade-long occupation. What began as a brief stay turned into almost a year at the city's Intercontinental Hotel, which became her first Afghan home. More than three decades later, this experience formed the basis of her award-winning book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul, which has now won the Women's Prize for nonfiction.

The Intercontinental Hotel as a Historical Lens

Doucet chose the Intercontinental Hotel as the central device for telling Afghanistan's story because it remained an "unbreakable constant" through decades of political upheaval. Built by the British in the late 1960s, the hotel once symbolized a different Afghanistan – a time when Kabul was known as the "Paris of the east," with vibrant fashion, jazz music, and international visitors. Through the hotel's staff and guests, Doucet weaves a narrative that draws readers in rather than pushing them away from Afghanistan's complex history.

Afghanistan's Political Evolution Through Decades

Throughout her nearly four decades reporting from Afghanistan, primarily for the BBC, Doucet has witnessed the country pass through almost every political experiment of the modern era: Soviet-backed communism, civil war, Taliban rule, western-backed democracy, and now the Taliban again. The hotel staff who remained through these changes – including Hazrat the housekeeper, Abida the first female chef, Amanullah the engineer, and Malalai one of the first female waiters – form the heart of her story, representing the resilience of Afghan people through turbulent times.

The Current Crisis for Afghan Women

Since returning to power, the Taliban have systematically erased women from public life through draconian measures. Girls have been entirely banned from secondary education and university, women have been forced out of many workplaces and banned from public spaces, and strict adherence to the burqa is required. Last month, an official decree effectively legalized child marriage, and just recently, a rare protest in Herat against arrests of women accused of violating hijab rules ended with two people killed, including a child.

"Five years in and it is getting worse. It is a stain on our world," Doucet states, while also noting "the courage of Afghan women is extraordinary."

International Response and Future Outlook

Doucet expresses frustration that barriers facing Afghan women extend beyond the country's borders. "There are Afghan women getting scholarships, but there are no visas now to allow Afghan women to come and study in Britain and in many other places," she says. "People who were somebody in Afghanistan – activists, world-class journalists – find themselves having to start again from scratch."

The award-winning journalist hopes her book and the recognition it brings will help refocus international attention on Afghanistan. "Afghanistan has largely slipped from the headlines," she says. "Perhaps this win will bring some attention to the country. None of us should be ready to accept a situation in which we live in a world where there is a country where girls cannot be educated after they're 16, where women cannot go to university, where women are barred from so many jobs. This is something we should all be angry about."