I Wish to Go to School to Become a Doctor

It was the 31st July. A number of AEPO colleagues headed towards Shakardara district in Kabul to talk to some of the audiences regarding the programs produced by AEPO.

When we reached the inhabitants in the district, we faced a woman who just came out of her house and poured a bag of garbage in the stream by her house and filled the stream with garbage. We did not like to talk with her at all.

As we headed forward, we knocked on a door and a woman came out who invited us in. Inside the house, we met three other women who were Sediqa’s daughter in law and her two daughters, as she said. They all were busy with tailoring stuff. There were bundles of clothes and cartoons of beads and jewels around them, but we did not notice any notebooks or pens around.

Saalema, Sediqa’s daughter said, “We install the jewels on the pillows and headscarves according to the design specified previously. Then, we pour some water on the clothes and iron them carefully, so the jewels are installed on the clothes. When we are finished with the installation process, my brothers sell them in Kabul city. We are happy with our work and the benefit we receive. We could arrange the expenses of our brothers’ weddings.”

The skill and talent Saalema had been using to do the work was wonderful and amazed all of us. I asked her if she goes to school or not, and she replied regretfully that she and her sisters are illiterate as their brothers do not allow them to go out of the house or to school.

As we left Laku village, we headed towards the Jangi Khil village. By the stream, there were little girls filling their pots. We went into an old fort next to the stream. There was a girl baking bread in a traditional oven (Tanoor). We asked a girl whose name was Zainab if she goes to school or not. She nodded no and start talking. She added that when she was going to school, the boys in the village were disturbing her, and she left school after 4th grade therefor.

Among the crowd, there was a little girl named Atifa. She said that she was going to school and she wants to become a doctor.

Meeting these incredible girls and noting their points, we headed back to Kabul so that we could include some parts of their stories in the NHNL drama.