A while ago, I had to go to a relative’s house for dinner. While I was there I noticed a rather familiar looking girl talking to my mother. Upon a closer look it finally hit me that this was the same girl who used to work as a maid for my uncles family, nearly five to six years ago.
As my curiosity got the best of me, I soon found out that Zareena had quit her job here because she wanted to go to school and pursue her education. Naturally, her parents were strictly against their “rebellious” daughters ambitions. But despite of all the excessive drama and emotional blackmail she had to go through at home everyday, Zareena continued to work hard and completed her Matric. Right now, she is preparing for her Inter exams.
When I first heard the tale of her immense courage and motivation, I was awestruck. People like her are the true superheroes, I had thought. The real Wonder Woman, who had beaten all the odds stacked against her and done what she believed in. But what kills me inside is that there are hundreds of thousands of little Zareenas all over this country. The little girls, who so badly want to carry their own bags filled with books, to copy homework from the blackboard, instead of washing somebody else’s dirty dishes, to go to school instead of a job. Sadly, our society doesn’t let them.
Once, I was asked a very interesting question. While I was going on with my rant about how education is the answer to all of mans problems, someone asked me why it was so important for women to be educated? In his opinion, women stayed at home and looked after her children, while men were the “natural breadwinners”. You’ll just be wasting your money and time, he had concluded. At that time, I had found this question blatantly offensive but now I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is the mindset of people all across Pakistan.
The answer to this question, however, is very simple. Quality education is the birthright of every man, woman and child. I believe that an illiterate girl goes on to become an illiterate mother. So even if a woman decides to stay at home to look after her children, her education is still of utmost importance because she is the source of knowledge, the guiding light, for her children.
If a boy has grown up in house where all the women in his family are uneducated, it is most likely that he will not educate his own daughters either, and hence the vicious cycle
of illiteracy will continue to go on. That is why I don’t just believe in Taleem. I believe in Taleem Sab Ke Liye.
Illiteracy is a contagious disease and the sooner we understand that the better. So instead of complaining about the shortcomings of our education system, its time we take a leaf out of Zareenas book and make the difference ourselves. No matter how small the change is, one in a million is definitely better than none in a million.
A wise man once said, “To change the future, you have to start from the present”. All I can add to that is, be the first to set an example and watch the world follow your footsteps.
Iqra Shahid
Director of academics, Taleem Sab Key Liye
As my curiosity got the best of me, I soon found out that Zareena had quit her job here because she wanted to go to school and pursue her education. Naturally, her parents were strictly against their “rebellious” daughters ambitions. But despite of all the excessive drama and emotional blackmail she had to go through at home everyday, Zareena continued to work hard and completed her Matric. Right now, she is preparing for her Inter exams.
When I first heard the tale of her immense courage and motivation, I was awestruck. People like her are the true superheroes, I had thought. The real Wonder Woman, who had beaten all the odds stacked against her and done what she believed in. But what kills me inside is that there are hundreds of thousands of little Zareenas all over this country. The little girls, who so badly want to carry their own bags filled with books, to copy homework from the blackboard, instead of washing somebody else’s dirty dishes, to go to school instead of a job. Sadly, our society doesn’t let them.
Once, I was asked a very interesting question. While I was going on with my rant about how education is the answer to all of mans problems, someone asked me why it was so important for women to be educated? In his opinion, women stayed at home and looked after her children, while men were the “natural breadwinners”. You’ll just be wasting your money and time, he had concluded. At that time, I had found this question blatantly offensive but now I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is the mindset of people all across Pakistan.
The answer to this question, however, is very simple. Quality education is the birthright of every man, woman and child. I believe that an illiterate girl goes on to become an illiterate mother. So even if a woman decides to stay at home to look after her children, her education is still of utmost importance because she is the source of knowledge, the guiding light, for her children.
If a boy has grown up in house where all the women in his family are uneducated, it is most likely that he will not educate his own daughters either, and hence the vicious cycle
of illiteracy will continue to go on. That is why I don’t just believe in Taleem. I believe in Taleem Sab Ke Liye.
Illiteracy is a contagious disease and the sooner we understand that the better. So instead of complaining about the shortcomings of our education system, its time we take a leaf out of Zareenas book and make the difference ourselves. No matter how small the change is, one in a million is definitely better than none in a million.
A wise man once said, “To change the future, you have to start from the present”. All I can add to that is, be the first to set an example and watch the world follow your footsteps.
Iqra Shahid
Director of academics, Taleem Sab Key Liye