Journey Of Hope - Fall 2018 Journey of Hope 2018 | Page 10

Courage, a dream,
and a better life:
The story of a fatherless girl from the high mountains of remote Pakistan
Here is Shabnam’s story,
in her own words.
My name is
Shabnam. I am
from Harkush,
a small village
located
in
the beautiful
Phandar valley
of
District
Ghizer, Gilgit-
Baltistan, Pakistan. I live in the most
spectacular valley of all Gilgit-Baltistan.
I grew up in poverty, in an environment
where education was a rarity among women.
My father, Panjarash Khan, served in the
Pakistani army until his retirement at age
60. His monthly pension is the only source
of income for our family of seven.
Many students in the Phandar valley move
away to other cities for higher education, but
due to social taboos, most females must stay
home or marry instead of attending college.
Despite our cultural and income challenges,
my four siblings and I are all studying in
schools and colleges.
I attended our local government-run
primary school. But there was no middle
school in my village, so I stayed home for
one year without schooling. Eventually, my
father allowed me to attend middle school
in another village. Taking two hours each
day, the trip to school and back was not easy,
especially when harsh winter arrived and
snowfall covered the valley. But even with
these challenges, I passed my grade 10 exam.
By the grace of God, I was admitted to the
college in Gilgit City. I stayed in a women’s
hostel while I studied, but the fees were a
burden for my family. At nearly seventy
years old, my father worked hard to bear
the expenses, to the detriment of his health.
Unfortunately, due to cardiac arrest, my
father died and left our family with pain and
sorrow. After his death, we could no longer
afford my schooling.
Despite my grief and adversity, I asked the
hostel warden if I could work as an assistant
cook. She was a kindly woman, and allowed
me to work for my room and board so I could
continue my education in Gilgit. I went to
school in the morning for six hours, and
cooked food for hostel guests for the eight
hours after that. This schedule was tiring, yet
it was my only option if I wanted to finish
school. I remembered the saying of Thomas
Edison: “Many of life's failures are people
who did not realize how close they were to
success when they gave up." These words
gave me hope. Eventually, I passed my grade
12 exam.
After completing my secondary education,
I returned home. My mother needed me to
help provide for our family, for my siblings,
and especially to help my younger sister as
she was studying for her own grade 10 exam.
In the high mountain valleys of Pakistan, we
young women must often make sacrifices to
support our brothers and sisters.
As time went on, I felt a fiery passion to
complete my own higher education. I prayed
for a miracle. I pleaded and begged my
mother to allow me to leave home and return
to school, asking only for her permission,
“You don’t get frightened of these furious, violent winds, Oh Eagle!
These blow only to make you fly higher.”
(Allama Iqbal)
8 | JOURNEY OF HOPE
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE