By Mohammad Ibrahim Speasalay
Soala gazes at her prized high school diploma with tears in her eyes.
Having graduated at the top of her class from the Zarghuna Ana high school in Kandahar province, she had dreamed of going on to study medicine.
But her hopes were dashed when her father and older brother said that they would not allow her to carry on her education.
As a doctor, Soala said, she would have been able to serve the wider society and help rebuild her country. Conservative traditions now meant that her studies were at an end.
“If I had known that they would not allow me to go on to higher education, then maybe I would not have struggled so hard throughout the 12 years [of school],” she said. “I wanted to serve the women of Kandahar in the field of medicine after graduating from university. My father and older brother killed my hope. What good will this certificate do me now?”
Soala’s older brother Asadullah said that he could not face the humiliation of friends teasing him because his sister was allowed to go to university.