Footsteps Faces of the Future Summer 2016 | Page 3

Shafia’s

story of
bravery and
sacrifice
Shafia

S

hafia’s daughter was in grade 6 when the
Taliban told her that girls should not be
in school. She and her husband both
felt strongly that their daughter deserved an
education and that she should be given every
opportunity to succeed in life. But the Taliban
persisted. The ultimatum was clear – pull
their daughter out of school or there would
be consequences.
Shafia and her husband stood their ground
and not long after Shafia’s husband was killed
for his conviction. The family suspected
Shafia’s brother-in-law, a staunch conservative
who had ties to a militant group, was partly to
blame for her husband’s death.
Fearing for her life and that of her daughter,
Shafia moved the family from Khost Province
in southeast Afghanistan to the outskirts of
Kabul where she hoped her father would keep
them safe.
In spite of the tragedy, Shafia was determined to continue what she and her husband
had started. She enrolled her daughter in
school. She then did an extraordinary thing
and enrolled herself as well.

CentralAsiaInstitute.org

“In grade 9 the Taliban stopped my
school,” she said. “They said it was not good
for girls getting education, but I wanted to
study more.”
So Shafia, then in her early 20s, went back
to school with the help of a CAI scholarship.
“We were poor. I needed help, but my
thinking is ‘I cannot live like a human if I [am
not] educated.’”
A few years later, Shafia graduated from
Kabul University and started working
for CAI in-country partner, Central Asia
Institute Afghanistan. As an education officer
she was responsible for processing scholarship requests, selecting and onboarding new
grantees, and helping the recipients navigate
through the education system.
“Central Asia Institute and SKO gave me
education. Now I help other girls and women
get education. If this continues soon every
woman will have education. ”
In her 5 years as a program manager, Shafia
helped hundreds of students reap the benefits
of education. The legacy of her husband’s
sacrifice is a beautiful one. n
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