I visited the home of Sakina, one of those staff members, and met her daughter Marwa, who was one of the girls directly affected by the attack. You can just tell that Marwa is a great kid. She’s alert and attentive, and apparently very hard-working. Every morning she’s home alone until her brother comes home at 11 and it’s time for her to go to school. During that time she cleans the house, top to bottom. When she’s not cleaning, she likes to study. Marwa says her favourite school subjects are math and Dari (their first language). She’s currently the third-best student in her class. Marwa wants to become a doctor.Ultimately, Green contrasts what the West has wrought:
According to Marwa, when the attack occurred the class was in math period. She was just going to the front of the class to present her homework when suddenly she passed out. When she next opened her eyes, she was in the hospital.
In a week or so, my own daughters will go back to school. The biggest things we’ll have to worry about are what we can and can’t put in their lunches, and if we have all the school supplies they’ll need. We don’t have to worry whether someone will spray poison gas into their classroom because they don’t think girls should have a right to go to school. So much we take for granted.No modern cultural relativist can claim to be indifferent between the opportunities for self-improvement and -reliance facing Marwa in Afghanistan (or some boys there) as opposed to those available to a typical Canadian school child. Marwa's better off than prior generations of Afghan women. So why not help?
I do know this. Never again in my life do I want to hear a small girl say the words Marwa said to me today: "I’m very afraid of going back to school. Last time I became sick. Next time I think I will die."
(via Normblog)
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