In the small classroom with a window looking out, she sits on a chair, waiting for the teacher who has been teaching her English for months. This is a good opportunity to ask about the achievements of a girl who has faced the Taliban’s obstacles to her education and progress but stands firm in the face of dire economic conditions, seeking ways to overcome her life’s challenges. Karima is one of the hundreds of female students who have been barred from attending university since the Taliban took over. She is brave, never giving in to life’s difficulties.
After the university’s closure and the Taliban’s tyrannical rule, despite facing numerous difficulties in providing for her family’s needs, she has not given up on her studies. Instead, she has found alternative ways to pursue her dreams. She decided to improve her English language to secure a scholarship abroad. To do this, she increased her carpet weaving work and, while helping her father meet the family’s needs, learned English. She studied at night and wove carpets during the day.
In three years of Taliban rule, she learned English up to the TOEFL level. After tireless efforts, she hired a private tutor with the help of an international organization and prepared for the TOEFL exam. She plans to apply to a good university in Europe once she passes the TOEFL.
Karima is happy that despite many economic challenges, she has turned her educational deprivation into an opportunity to learn English. Her satisfaction with her performance is evident on her face as she joyfully and energetically talks about her childhood goals: “Since childhood, I wanted to finish my studies and get a good job to financially support my family because our economic situation is not good, and it always pains me. I worked very hard during this period. I cut down on my meals and sleep to succeed.”
Because the school is far from her home and she has to work hard simultaneously and prepare for her TOEFL exam, she cannot afford to stop carpet weaving for two hours. Therefore, with the help of an international organization that supports girls deprived of education, she hired a private tutor. Her teacher, seeing her effort and diligence, agreed to guide her through the TOEFL exam for a small salary at the end of the workday.
Karima works hard to achieve her goals. She says she has always strived to be a successful and influential person in society throughout her life. Before the Taliban’s rule, she was preparing for the university entrance exam. After passing it, she was accepted into the engineering faculty of Kabul Polytechnic University. She studied hard for four years at the university, aiming to graduate with high marks, but in her fourth year, the Taliban took power and ruined years of her efforts. She says, “Although my father earned little from his labor work, he always supported me to prepare for the university entrance exam, get into university, and succeed. With my night-and-day efforts, I managed to get into the engineering faculty of Kabul Polytechnic University.”
Karima talks about the early days of the Taliban’s rule, when she, like other girls, felt a short period of despair and depression. She recounts her dark days of isolation: “After the Taliban came, I stayed at home and spent my days weaving carpets because all my family members became unemployed. I provided for the expenses through carpet weaving. At that time, I had no motivation to study until I decided not to give in to the Taliban and their demands.”
Now, alongside carpet weaving and preparing for the TOEFL, she also teaches English to several girls who have been deprived of school. She says she teaches the girls not to submit to the misogynistic and oppressive group that has darkened everyone’s life.
Despite the obstacles, Karima has achieved many successes, and these activities have positively impacted her life. She says that before deciding to pursue her dreams, she was reclusive and did not like to interact with people and society. But when she became determined to overcome the limitations and believed in herself, she removed the obstacles from her path.
You can read the Persian version of this Women’s Word here:
