"These girls need to get educated. Knowledge is something nobody can steal from them." -Razia Jan
Only eighteen percent of girls over fifteen in Afghanistan
know how to read. Only forty percent of females attend school. The
startlingly low number of women with no education results in disadvantages for
Afghan women. They are abused, mentally, physically, and sexually.
Many females are forced into arranged marriage, and even go as far as to set
themselves on fire to escape this fate. This is where Razia Jan comes to
help. Born in Afghanistan,
Jan experienced some of the sexism herself. She was fortunate enough to
move to the United States
when she was thirty and received an education. After continually hearing
about the statistics of Afghan girls not receiving education getting worse and
worse, Razia Jan decided to step up and make a change. Razia Jan's
strength, determination, and courage shown on her journey to open an all-girl's
school makes her a true heroine.
Although sixty-seven
years old, Razia Jan demonstrates exceptional strength. She has experienced
many hardships in her life such as moving from Afghanistan
to the United States
and rebuilding her life. Those hardships caused wear and tear on her now frail
and weak body. Despite that, she still found the strength to open her all-girl's
school. She singlehandedly raised about 150,000 dollars from donations
and fundraisers to cover the cost of building the school. She got the money
from donations to her non profit organization "Razia's Rays of Hope" as well as
some sponsors. Even after the school was
built and funded for, there were still more obstacles. One day, before
the opening of the school, four men came in to demand and threaten Jan to turn
her school into a boy's school. She dismissed them like it was
nothing: "'You can't be afraid of people,' she said. 'You have
to be able to say 'no.' Maybe because I'm old, the men are kind of scared of
me, and they don't argue with me,'" (qtd. in "Acid attacks"). She
showed more strength than the powerful men threatening her. Her
confidence and demeanor inspire us to stand up for what we believe in and back
it up with all the strength we can. If Jan didn't have the determination
and passion she does for her school, she would have been dead a long time ago. Jan
says, "'every day, I can see a difference. I have a lot
of fun; that's what's keeping me alive. 'Otherwise, I would have been
gone a long time ago,'" (qtd. in "AFGHAN
GIRLS' SCHOOL"). Her strength and
passion is what keeps her alive and inspires many.
In order to achieve
her goals, Razia Jan had to overcome many obstacles. Before she
found inspiration to make a difference, Razia Jan had a nice life. She
was very fortunate to be able to leave Afghanistan
and go to America
to get an education. There, she went to college, had a son, became an
American citizen, and opened a small tailoring business in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
She had a perfectly stable, normal life. However, one huge tragedy occurred,
completely changing Jan's mindset about life, and caused her determination to
make a difference soar high. This incident was the infamous 9/11 tragedy.
Jan says, "'I so admired those men,'. 'I thought: this is the courage
needed to make a difference in the world.' So, like the firefighters she so
admired, Jan ran towards the flames of war, at a time when most Afghans were
running the other way,'" (qtd. in Khan). She saw the firefighters as
heroes, and decided she wanted to be one too. Her determination is what
made her return back to Afghanistan
when it was most dangerous. She also showed determination when many people told
her to stop doing what she was doing: "'Excuse me. The women are the eyesight of Afghanistan,
and unfortunately you all are blind. And I really want to give you some
sight,'" (qtd. in Khan). She was determined to educate Afghan girls and not
even big scary men could stop her from doing just that. Razia Jan's
determination is what led her to keep pursuing her goals.
Lastly, Jan's
courage is what made her stand out the most. Not many people would
willingly return to a corrupt, dangerous country after having escaped it years
before. "The terrorists who attacked were not Afghans, [but]
the cancer was in Afghanistan.
With all this chaos and things that happen, there is still a lot of
lawlessness, corruption. But I can see hope in these things," ("AFGHAN GIRLS' SCHOOL"). Not
only does she return to her dangerous homeland, she creates an all girl's
school, against the consent of the people there, risking her life. Her
courage helped hundreds of girls get better lives. Returning to the
country takes courage, and running a school there takes even more courage.
"Every day, you hear that somebody's thrown acid at a girl's face ... or they
poison their water. There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools
and hospitals in Afghanistan
last year, according to the United Nations. The majority were attributed to
armed groups opposed to girls' education.Despite the threat of violence, Jan
continues to open the doors of her Zabuli Education Center, a two-story,
14-room building where 354 area girls are receiving a free education," ("Acid
attacks"). Her courage is astounding and inspiring.
By showing strength, determination, and
courage, Razia Jan showed true heroic qualities. Throughout her journey
to building and running the school, Jan didn't only make a huge difference in Afghanistan,
but also inspired many people along the way. "Jan, who takes no money for
her work with the school, believes the education her students receive will
benefit not only future generations of Afghan women but the country as a
whole," ("Acid attacks"). She made a school that will hopefully
last for at least one hundred years. Her school is one of the few all girl
schools in Afghanistan
and a very successful one, yet she takes no money for her hard work. This
shows that Razia Jan is running this school solely because she believes it is
necessary for women to have education and get equal rights. Her work
comes from the heart, and expects nothing in return but the good results. All
of her hard work definitely paid off. There were over 400 graduates from
her school. One graduate says, "'I am so happy that I can read and write,
Laila Hossaindad, one of Arzu's weavers, told Ms. Jan not long ago. It makes me
powerful,'" (qtd. in "Afghan women; Opportunities Expand"). Razia Jan is a true inspiration and heroine.
Works Cited
"Acid attacks, poison: What Afghan girls risk by going to school." CNN Wire 20 Sept. 2012. Student Resources in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
"AFGHAN GIRLS' SCHOOL FOUNDER VISITS HEIDELBERG." States News Service 7 Nov. 2012. Biography in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
"Afghan women; Opportunities expand despite threats of violence." Washington Times [Washington, DC] 30 Aug. 2009: M04. Biography in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Khan, Adnan. "Afghan Women's Activist Razia Jan Points the Way for Girls | The National."Afghan Women's Activist Razia Jan Points the Way for Girls | The National. The National, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/afghan-womens-activist-razia-jan-points-the-way-for-girls>.
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