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Mothers, daughters, wives!

By Sidrah Roghay

“We need to educate our women so that they become better wives, mothers and sisters.” Said a tall, wiry school boy at a talent show hosted by a local ngo at Ibrahim Hyderi.

I looked around me and was surprised to find a good number of female community members gathered to watch a performance titled “taleem sab kay liyay”.

A group of slightly older looking girls caught my attention. I went up to one and asked her a few every day questions.

“What’s your name?”

“Shabana.”

“How old are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you been to school before?”

“No, this is the first time.”

“Why do you want to study?”

She was quiet for a very long time. I repeated my question. She looked around uneasily, scared that some one might overhear her, then in my ear she whispered “I want to be a doctor”. She blushed, laughed, shied away, and hid her face in her dupatta.

I was touched. Underneath all this white propaganda, in a sixteen year old’s simple wish, I witnessed seeds of change.