At the Border of Language and Collective Memory: The Life of Kawa Jobran

Kawa Jobran, a Persian-speaking poet and writer, was born in 1984 in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. He pursued higher education in Persian language and literature at Kabul University, where he earned a master’s degree. Driven by a deep passion for literature and critical thought, he continued his academic journey by enrolling in a doctoral program at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. However, before he could complete and defend his thesis, the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021 forced him to leave his homeland abruptly. Since then, he has lived in exile in Paris, where he found refuge and continues his intellectual path.

Jobran is the author of the novels “Loharan” (2013) and “Life on Order of the Mosquitoes” (2016), two significant works published in Kabul that drew the attention of Afghan literary critics. Before fully dedicating himself to prose, he made his mark in poetry with three notable collections: “One Day Left Before the End of Love” (2007), “The Sun Is on Leave” (2009), and “Song and Terrorist” (2011). These texts, imbued with acute sensitivity and a strong political awareness, reflect his artistic commitment to the social realities of his country.

Renowned Afghan poet and writer Sayed Reza Mohammadi praised “Life on Order of the Mosquitoes” as “a remarkable and profound book; one of the finest narratives born of the prophetic meditations of a poet-writer. What matters most is that, in this work, he breaks free from the shadow of poetic language and imagery that dominated his first novel. A book that, if well translated, will shine for years to come in the memory of literature, both nationally and globally.” This commentary highlights Jobran’s narrative maturity and the universal scope of his writing.

The novel, carried by a fictional and subtly constructed narrative voice, evokes a dark era that many readers and critics associate with the first Taliban regime in Afghanistan. It portrays a time marked by religious fundamentalism, political tyranny, institutionalized misogyny, and cultural obscurantism. Through this work, Jobran explores the mechanisms of oppression and the wounds of collective memory. This theme runs throughout his literary output — whether in his novels, poetry collections, or critical essays — and his writing consistently engages in a struggle against fundamentalism, authoritarianism, and all forms of ideological violence that orbit these systems.

Before his exile, Kawa Jobran held several roles within Afghanistan’s intellectual and media landscape. He worked as a university professor, journalist, and director of multiple press outlets, playing an active role in promoting critical thought and defending human rights. After arriving in France, he joined the master’s program in anthropology at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris, a prestigious institution dedicated to research in the humanities. He is currently continuing his studies and preparing to defend his thesis, thus pursuing his intellectual engagement in a new geographical and cultural context.