Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Wishing they had to walk through 2 miles of snow, uphill, both ways...


We often have fun here at BwD with the disdain and contempt we hold/held towards the compulsory education of our youth… some of which is actually just a put-on. We figure it’s because, in part, we really had no say in the matter… no real choice.

Well, the young women in Kandahar certainly have a choice… then again maybe they don’t. Back in November, the Taliban assaulted the Mirwais School for Girls by spraying acid at the students and teachers in which 11 girls and 4 teachers were injured.

After an initial and completely understandable lag in attendance in the immediate aftermath, attendance is back at full capacity. We can’t explain it. Defiance, Faith, an internal rage for the opportunity of self-betterment in the face of an enemy that denies you the same…. things all at a level and intensity that we have never been forced to exhibit. These young ladies illustrate why, perhaps, not going back to school is simply not an option.

Check out more of their story, here, in slide show form.

Many thanks to Mongo for some outstanding primary research.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Those girls would kick the 5th grade version of my tail from Kandahar to Mazari Sharif. Heck, they'd probably kick my tail now.

Anyway, an Afghan female version of "The Right Stuff", or "True Grit"??

- Mongo