Rudaba, Farkhunda, Noria, Aysha and Rabia
- Pippa
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
A post today to honour the young women who study online through Afghanistan Education Action, a United Kingdom based charity that provides learning opportunities where they are forbidden. As you probably know, females in Afghanistan are banned by the Taliban from attending school beyond the age of 12, yet according to varying reports, at least 2 million females across Afghanistan are accessing education online and through secret community schools. I’ll be writing more about my involvement with AEA in upcoming posts but, for today, International Women’s Day, I want to share with you a picture, a poem and some news articles.
Ena created the picture and it speaks to the situation of all the women of Afghanistan who hope for a better future . Elinaz is one of my intermediate English students and she wrote the poem. The news articles will help you understand some of the references in the poem.
Once upon a time
There was a land, beautiful but sad called Afghanistan!
A land that if it were a human, it would be a woman.
It could have been beloved Rudaba who was stoned to death in the heart of the plain.
Or it could be Farkhunda who set fire to her own house.
It could be the girls who are the most hopeful among depressed people in the world.
It would be Noria, the girl who became a man overnight. Forced to do by the name of life.
It would be Rabia who composed poetry and sang for women in the heart of ignorance.
Or it could be Bibi Aysha whose body parts were cut off for not breathing enough.
It would be a woman who hide her tears behind her smiles.
Yes! Afghanistan could be like women who is a sacrifice for her children.
Or it could be a woman who lost her children back-to-back but couldn’t do anything for them by the name of Mother!
It would be a woman with a long patience!
But one day this brave woman will emerge from the darkness with the light of hope.
This powerful woman will shine again as a Phoenix in the sky!
Elinaz, Student of AEA
I watched a video yesterday where Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist, talks about the young Afghan women who continue their studies despite restrictions. Learning, they say, represents hope. One girl describes reading a book alone in her room as an “act of resistance”. They are all resistance fighters.
Let’s pause to remember Rudaba, Farkhunda, Noria, Aysha and Rabia. Each of them an inspiration for the daring ladies whom I proudly call my students.
Happy International Women’s Day!
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