While Afghanistan continues to suffer under a heavy bombardment of civilian causalities in a war of domestic and foreign brutality, stories like this remind us that the most heroic and inspiring examples often come from those who dare to protect and support the very thing others attempt to suppress.
While Afghanistan continues to suffer under a heavy bombardment of civilian causalities in a war of domestic and foreign brutality, stories like this remind us that the most heroic and inspiring examples often come from those who dare to protect and support the very thing others attempt to suppress.
A father from central Sharana of Paktika province in Afghanistan has won the heart of the internet after a Swedish charity posted about his daily journey for his daughters’ education. Traveling 12 kilometers on a motorbike every single day to ensure his daughters get to school safely, Mia Khan then waits for hours outside the school until classes are finished to help take his daughters safely back home again.
Bringing his three daughters every single day to the Nooraniya school, Mia Khan pushes aside insecurities at the border of the province and cultural barriers to ensure his daughters are given the education he never received. Speaking to the charity, the father stated:
I am illiterate, and I live on daily wage, but my daughters’ education is very valuable to me because there is no female doctor in our area. It is my greatest desire to educate my daughters just like my sons.”
At the Nooraniya School for Girls, around 220 girls are currently studying there from grades one to six. The Swedish charity who first posted about Mia Khan is helping build schools across Paktika province, with hundreds in operation across the province and with the majority of students girls.
One of the daughters of Mia Khan, Rozi, told the charity:
I am so happy that I study, I am in grade six this year. My dad or brother brings us on a motorcycle every day to the school and when we leave, he brings us home again.”
While Afghanistan continues to suffer under a heavy bombardment of civilian causalities in a war of domestic and foreign brutality, stories like this remind us that the most heroic and inspiring examples often come from those who dare to protect and support the very thing others attempt to suppress. Mia Khan’s three daughters, who are able to attend school and receive an education in a country where outside forces have for so long attempted to silence girls and their right to education, remain a shining beacon of hope under the loving support of their father.
