HADA

by Saeda

Hada is a 9th grader resident of Paghman district. School was going well for her until the 9th grade. She would enjoy going to school with hopes and dreams, looking forward to graduating and pursuing a career as a teacher, where she would be able to support her family of four. Her family members include her mother, a sister who is in the first grade, and a five-yearold brother. Life was difficult for Hada in the absence of her father, who had died in a suicide attack many years ago. Despite being busy with school, Hada would wash clothes of the rich through-

NAGINA

by Starah

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and forbade girls from going to school, my close friend Nagina Akaya was sad and depressed. Nagina was always eager to learn and acquire knowledge, under the belief that school illuminates a person’s future.

She considers school as her second home and says that she learned the true meaning of life and how to live in school. Yet, she was forced to dropout of school in out Kabul by her mother’s side in order to continue living and find a piece of bread for her younger siblings.

In spite of the hardships she faced, Heda wanted to finish school to find employment as a teacher so she could support her family and keep her sick mother from washing. Yet the Coronavirus pandemic closed the doors of schools, and the Taliban banned girls from returning once the pandemic subsided. Left with no choice but being patient, Hada is heartbroken, and feels that she has no hope of getting a university education.