Amineh Ahmed Hoti is a member of the Faculty of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and a Visiting Scholar at Lucy Cavendish College, where she leads a society for interfaith dialogue.

• List of plates; List of figures; List of maps; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Note on transliteration; Glossary; Introduction; 1. Gham-khādi: framework and fieldwork; 2. From the inside-out: Bibiane's 'dual lives' in and beyond the house; 3. The work of mourning: death and dismay among Bibiane; 4. Celebrating khādi: communal Pukhtun weddings and clandestine internet marriages; 5. The work of gham-khādi: 'not to do gham-khādi is shameful (sharam); to do it a burden'; Conclusion; Appendices; References; Index.

'This work, based on extensive fieldwork in an area inaccessible to those without Dr Ahmed's formidable linguistic skills and cultural experience, is absolutely unique. It is the first major study of Pukhtun women, done with the trained eye of a skilled anthropologist, and obvious respect for her subject matter.' Tamara Sonn, William R. Kenan Jr Distinguished Professor of Humanities, College of William and Mary, Virginia