These Afghan girls will inspire you.

By MING YU

I was 13 when I discovered I could fly.  Returning from school one afternoon, I turned on the TV and a magical picture appeared – of a man soaring on a colourful hang-glider through the Grand Canyon. Transported,  I could hear the swoosh of the wind, my ears felt a little chilly, but my body warmed by the late afternoon sunlight washing over the Grand Canyon.  At 22, I fulfilled this dream and hang-glided over a beautiful national park near Sydney – an incredible experience!

When I was a teenager, I realised I could do almost anything I wanted – if I worked really, really, really hard. All my family ever told (and still tell!!) me was: don’t be a criminal, keep in good health, get a decent education, don’t join a cult and please hold down an OK-paid job.

But many girls in Afghanistan don’t receive the same lucky opportunities that I and most Australian females enjoy.  In fact, it is rare for girls like 17 year old Aziza to still be at school.  In Afghanistan, girls complete an average six years of schooling, with only 13% of females over 15 years old becoming literate. Girls’ schools are frequently attacked by the Taliban and other anti-government armed groups. There is widespread violence against girls like beatings and sexual abuse in the home and in public.

Before going to school, Aziza fetches water, cleans the floor, feeds the chickens and cooks breakfast for her family.  After school Aziza has more chores, but manages to study for five hours at night so she can reach her dream of being the best in her class and perhaps the first female President of her country.  More and more girls in Afghanistan are now going to school and university since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, but a lot more support and protection should be provided to girls and their families, teachers and schools.

For most Australian girls and women, we are free to choose who we marry or whether we want to marry.  In Afghanistan, child marriage is common with almost one in five girls getting married before age 15.  Nearly 46 per cent of girls in Afghanistan are married by the time they are 18.  Attitudes are gradually improving with a court in the capital city of Kabul sentencing to 10 years in prison the in-laws of an Afghan girl who was severely abused by them. She was forced to marry at the age of 13.

You can listen to the inspiring story of 22 year old Tahmina Kohistani here, who was the only Afghan woman participating in the 2012 London Olympics and one of very few Afghan women ever to compete in the Olympics. At around 13, frustrated at basketball, she tried running as a sport.  Despite some people angrily telling her that sport is unsuitable for girls and she should remain at home, Tahmina persevered with sprinting and qualified for the London Olympics. Her eyes and smile glow as she recounts the obstacles put in her way as a female athlete in Afghanistan, but which she overcame.

Young girls throughout war-torn Afghanistan have many hopes and dreams.  In the words of 14 year old Madia –

Sometimes I am unhappy

Because there is fighting in my country.

 

When I am unhappy

Just thinking about good things

Makes me happy again.

 

School is my life now

I am learning and growing,

And finding ways to be happy.

Wherever we are in the world, we can support the hopes of Afghan girls like Aziza, Tahmina and Madia.  Please take one minute to find out how here.

Ming is an Amnesty International Australia’s Afghan Women’s Rights Campaigner. 11 October is the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child.