The Real Afghan Girl

Mitra Hussaini

Photo: Prabir Das

"One hero can make many more heroes”, says Mitra Hussaini. Born in Afghanistan, ten year old Mitra and her family migrated to Pakistan in 2002. At that time, the government was forcefully making all male members in the community join the army to fight the Taliban, a force which was becoming increasingly powerful every day. Mitra pleaded with her brothers to get them all away from this war-struck land and soon they complied. She describes her journey to Pakistan as nothing less than extraordinary. Clad in a burkha, she along with her mom and sister set off to cover the long distance by road. Near the border, the men and women had to travel separately by foot. Mitra did not know if she would meet her brothers again although the driver ensured them otherwise. After 3-4 hours, Mitra finally met her brothers; they had dressed to resemble the Taliban so that they could easily get through the border.

Mitra settled down in Quetta with her family where there were many more Afghan families. Here, Mitra completed her education till grade 12. She also completed a course in the basics of English and computer studies. From a young age, Mitra was serious about pursuing her education but the situation in Pakistan was a trifle better than Afghanistan. Mitra recalls her mother and other family members getting angry when she would be out late. But Mitra was not someone to be stopped by mere words. After completing her education, Mitra started teaching English to young girls and later computer graphics as well. In 2010, she went back to her native country. Back in Afghanistan, Mitra noticed that people had changed a lot since her departure. Now, women are getting an education, although still in confinement. Mitra got a job in International Medical Corps and then later in the Ministry of Education as technical officer. At the same time she applied to Asian University for Women in Chittagong, got accepted and came to Bangladesh. She is currently doing her internship at BRAC International in the HR department.

With the help of Mr. Hussain Sadiqi, an international athlete from Afghanistan, Mitra has planned to build the first sports centre for Afghan women and is currently looking for funding for this project. She feels that physical training gives women the confidence they need to deal with sexual harassment they face every day on the streets. She recalls an incident that had pricked her young mind to begin thinking of gender equality at a very early age. Once, a man knocked on her door and asked how many people were in the house. When her mother replied three, and the man came in and saw that there were three women (Mitra, her mother and sister), he said that they were not three people but one and half. She wants to show these same people that one woman is equal to two people, not half because a woman has the ability to accomplish much more than a man can.

Mitra feels that there is still hope for women's rights in society. Afghan women are more confident these days and are putting their education to good use. Also, women and men get the same salary for a job, provided they have similar education and experience, a fact that might not be true in many other parts of the world. Mitra dreams and she dreams big. Along with her project on the sports centre for Afghan women, she also wants to help marginalised people in her hometown. She says that young girls have to travel long distances to collect water and for this reason they don't go to school. Mitra wants to help bring clean drinking water and better health facilities in this community.

This is a true story of the 'real' Afghan girl, whose determination and focus, even in times of great distress shows how one person alone can stir change in society and push it just a little further for a revolution to occur.

The writer works in BRAC International in the Communications department. She is a strong advocate for equality and believes in accepting everyone for who they are.