My dream, and the dreams of thousands of girls like me, was to continue our education, go to university, attend school, and work without fear. Unfortunately, Afghanistani girls are unable to pursue their education now. I am one of those girls who cannot go to university. I graduated from school in 2021, and my dreams were big. Like all Afghanistani girls, I had a dream to become a doctor, a teacher, or a journalist. One of my dreams was to study economics. In 2022, I passed the Kankor examination and was fortunately accepted into the Faculty of Economics, which I loved the most.
When I was in grade 12, the Taliban took over Afghanistan. I thought to myself, “I am an unlucky person, and so are all Afghanistani girls.” Now it seems impossible to achieve our goals because the Taliban has banned our dream of going to university or school.
Living in this situation is so hard, especially for women and girls, because we are forced to stay at home, with all doors locked. Now, all girls in Afghanistan have no dreams, no plans, and no goals. We are silent and calm. We are facing challenges and hardships, and three years have passed without dreams or goals. We are left with only bad memories.
We believed that one day everything would change, but we can’t study. However, we hope that the next generation will be able to study.
When universities were closed, I was devastated because I couldn’t continue my education. My parents told me, “If you want to go to an institute, you can.” I decided to attend an institute, but I didn’t like midwifery. Since there was no other option, I accepted it. However, when all the girls turned to health programs, the Taliban closed the institute as well.
One of my classmates, who had studied at the university for two years and at the institute for another two years, was also deeply sad. She cried about the closure of the university.
In the end, I want to say that darkness and hardship will pass, and everything will change.
– Lajward
Letter received from our students participating in our Mentorship program. Name and text altered for protection of our students and for grammatical changes.
