With its vast history and rich culture, Afghanistan is a country which beckons us to explore it. On 16th January 2015, 10 students of class 11, accompanied by Ms. Charu Bhatnagar, our History Teacher went to The Vasant Valley School as a part of our Schools citizenship programme to be introduced to this beautiful country from its first woman parliamentarian, herself, Ms. Fawzia Koofi.
Ms. Fawzia Koofi besides being a lawmaker, is also an accomplished author, and an internationally-known advocate for the rights of women and children, democracy, and moderate Islam. She is the first woman in the Afghan parliament to be elected Second Deputy Speaker, and she heads the parliaments Womens' Affairs Commission.
She started by telling us about her family background. Her father was an eminent politician with rigid ideologies, so he was naturally not delighted at the prospect of having another daughter when she was born! Her mother although, had big dreams for her. After her fathers death, the family shifted to Faizabad where she started school, becoming the first girl in her family to do so. It was here, that she was inspired by global women leaders like Ms. Margaret Thatcher and Ms. Indira Gandhi. She gradually discovered that she too desired to make a difference in her society.
[gallery columns="2"]When she was only 15, the pro-communist government was overthrown and the Mujahideen came to power. She recalls, The fight over power internally in the Mujahideen gave the opportunity for a new group to rise- The Taliban. It was during this time that she also lost her biggest supporter, her mother. Soon, Ms. Koofi started medical school to fulfil her mothers dream of seeing her become a doctor. However soon enough with the arrival of the Taliban in power, she was forced to discontinue her studies! To kill a nation, one does not need genocide..one simply needs to stop education there."
Soon after this, Ms. Koofi got married. However, destiny had other plans for her. 10 days after her marriage, the Taliban imprisoned her professor-husband, without offering any reason, except one- that he had married her! She was beaten up several times when she went to meet him. She tried what she could for his release and eventually, succeeded.
After the Taliban was overthrown, there was a palpable change in the atmosphere in the nation. Even though the city was destroyed, the people were hopeful, for they were not being beaten up for their colour of clothes, their families, the length of their beards Her husband died in 2003 after contracting tuberculosis from prison. In 2005, Ms. Koofi stood for the parliamentary election for 3 reasons- it would provide her the opportunity to work for equality; she came from a political family and had political roots and moreover, the constituency wanted her to represent them.
The injustice and discrimination that she had faced as a woman under the Taliban urged her to want to change something in Afghan society. As she said, " Challenges make life complete. " She admitted that she was under constant threat for being a strong political figure, but she is willing to sacrifice her life if that means a better future for her daughters. We fight, we survive, we live. she insists.
We felt overwhelmed! Ms. Koofis indomitable spirit is one that touched us deeply. We hope we too can construct a similar courage to seek to make a difference in our communities someday..
Pranati Haldia, XI-D.
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