3 Chapati 3 3 / Phiti 3 3 3
OUR TIME IS NOW
Even though the Taliban were ousted from power 16 years ago , women considering careers still fear retribution from their conservative families and neighbors . A visible career , like that of a teacher , is a risky gamble for any young woman .
“ The other women are afraid ,” Parween says about other ladies who have flirted with the idea of becoming teachers at her school . “ The society is not supportive , peoples are harassing the girls .”
The “ girls ” she mentions aren ’ t just potential teachers . Students are not immune to these attacks . Threats are shouted at girls as they walk to school . Other times , more than words are thrown .
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 Chapati 3 3 / Phiti 3 3 3
Chapati ( flat bread ) is an essential food for 3 people 3 of Gilgit-Baltistan 3 3 , Pakistan 3 .
3 3 3 3 3 3 It is frequently eaten for breakfast .
Made with wheat flour and baked in an oven or wood stove , it is served in the
3 3 3 3 3 morning with salty tea .
3 8 cups 3 wheat 3 flour 3 3 3
½ cup cooking oil or butter 1 teaspoon salt ¼ 3 teaspoon 3 yeast 3 3 3 33
1 egg
3 3 3 3
1 cup milk
3 3 3 3 3
2
3 1 / 8 cups water
Combine 3 all 3 ingredients 3 3 and make 3 dough by mixing with 2
3 3 3 3 3 1 / 8 cups of water . Rest the dough for two hours in
3 3 3 3 3 3 warmer temperature and bake in oven for 45 minutes or on a stove with low flame for one hour .
3 3 3 3 3
Serve with salty tea for breakfast .
“ One day some stupid guys shoot a girl inside the school with a bird hunting gun ,” Parween recalls . The girl sustained only minor injuries and recovered quickly but the message was clear , girls shouldn ’ t be in school .
“ It ’ s really hard , this dangerous situation , because of culture and security and many other barriers in front of us … but beside of all these hardships we want to be educated and become something in our future .”
DESPITE THE DANGER
Threats suffered by students and teachers are horrible and seek to intimidate everyone involved . What ’ s more , the possibility for escalation is very real .
Militant presence in Jalalabad has grown over the past couple of years . ISIS propaganda was broadcast over the airwaves as recently as 2015 , the same year that a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated a bomb outside a bank killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 100 more . A year later , a suicide attack killed 13 people and left 14 wounded . This year , an attack on a local TV station claimed the lives of four station workers and two police officers .
Despite the danger , Parween will not give in to oppressors .
“ I will never back down from any situation ,” she says . “ Young people are the backbone of every society , so their role is also the most important .”
Her determination has inspired her students . While girls in Jalalabad hesitated to come to school at first , seeing Parween has given them courage .
“ In large numbers , girls were not coming to school because of have male teachers . They are demanding for female teacher , so seeing me here as a headmaster they and all the other students are so much inspired .”
She hopes her actions and the bravery of her students will also inspire students ’ parents , many of whom are laborers and never received an education . Ignorant of the benefits , they struggle to understand the importance of education , especially for girls , and are more concerned with meeting the basic needs of their families .
In their eyes , girls of a certain age would be better off caring for family members or contributing to the family income .
Nevertheless , others see education as a way to break the cycle of poverty . It is the only chance to catapult their children to successes they can never know . This is why , slowly but surely , families from the neighborhood are sending their children , boys and girls , to school to study under Parween . Parween couldn ’ t be happier to be a part of this new trend .
A quote often attributed to Winston Churchill reads , “ Success is not final , failure is not fatal : it is the courage to continue that counts .” In the case of education in Afghanistan , success is certainly not final , but failure could in fact be fatal . Still , brave women , men , girls , and boys have the courage to continue . Parween will forge ahead , leaving many bright , hopeful young students in her wake . They will be there to pick up her mantle when she sets it down . They will be the generation to push aside old ideology . They are the generation that will rebuild the nation . •
Hannah White is the CAI communications director . She came to Bozeman by way of Dubois , Wyo ., where she worked for two seasons as a wrangler at the Bitterroot Ranch . Before coming out West , she was communications coordinator for The Constitution Project , a bipartisan policy organization in Washington , D . C ., and communications and development associate at Karamah : Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights in Washington , D . C .
White holds a master ’ s degree in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Chicago , and a bachelor ’ s degree in anthropology , sociology , and archaeology from St . Mary ’ s College of Maryland .
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