Dare to Educate Afghan Girls | Shabana Basij-Rasikh | TED Talks

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Jamal Omar Reviewer: Abdiwahab Osman

When I was 11,

11-jir markaan ahaay,

I remember waking up one morning to the sound of joy in my house.

Waxaan xasuustaa inaan subax kusoo kacay dhawaaq farxadeed oo gurigeena ka jiray.

My father was listening to BBC News

aabahay waxuu dhagaysanaayay aqbaacta BBC-da

on his small, gray radio.

raadiyihiisa yaraa ee dambasta u ekaay.

There was a big smile on his face which was unusual then,

Wejigiisa waxa ka muuqday dhoolacadeen aad u weyn oo aan caadi aheen waqtigaas,

because the news mostly depressed him.

maxaa yelay aqbaaradka marwalbo wey niyad jebin jireen.

"The Taliban are gone!" my father shouted.

" Taalibaaniintii weey baxeen!" ayuu aabehey mar qura ku dhawaaqay.

I didn't know what it meant,

ma'aanan ogeyn wuxuu ula jeedo,

but I could see that my father was very, very happy.

laakin waxan arki karay inuu aabahey aad iyo aad u faraxsanaa.

"You can go to a real school now," he said.

"Hada waxaad aadi kartaa iskuul dhab ah ", Ayuu yiri.

A morning that I will never forget.

Subax aanan weligeey hilmaami doonin.

A real school.

Iskuul dhab ah.

You see, I was six when the Taliban took over Afghanistan

Sida aad u jeedid, waxaan jiray 6 sano markay Taliban qabsadeen Afgaanistan

and made it illegal for girls to go to school.

misna ay soo rogeen ineey mamnuc tahay gabar ineey iskuul aado.

So for the next five years, I dressed as a boy

Shanti sano ee soo socotay, waxaan ulabisan jiray sida wiil

to escort my older sister, who was no longer allowed

si aan u ilaaliyo walaashey, oo markaas loo ogoleen

to be outside alone, to a secret school.

ineey banaan si kali ah u aado oo ay si qarsoodi ah u dhigato Iskuul.

It was the only way we both could be educated.

waxay ahayd wadada kaliya aan labadeenaba aqoon yahano ku noqon karno.

Each day, we took a different route

waxaan maalin walbo mari jirnay wada kala duwan

so that no one would suspect where we were going.

si ay qofna nooga shakinin meesha aan usocono

We would cover our books in grocery bags

Waxaan buugaagteena ku dabooli jirnay baagaga adeega

so it would seem we were just out shopping.

si ay u muuqato inaan soo adeeganeenay.

The school was in a house,

Iskuulku wuxuu ku dhexyaalay guri,

more than 100 of us packed in one small living room.

In ka badan 100 anaga ah ayaa waxa nalagu xareen jiray qol jiif oo yar.

It was cozy in winter but extremely hot in summer.

waqtiga jiilalka wuu iska yara roona laakin xagaaga aad buu ukululaay.

We all knew we were risking our lives --

Nolosheena inaan halis galineeno waan ogeen--

the teacher, the students and our parents.

macalimiinta, ardayda iyo waalidiinteenaba.

From time to time, the school would suddenly be canceled

waqti walbo waxaala baajin jiray iskuulka

for a week because Taliban were suspicious.

ilaa iyo hal isbuuc maxa yelay Taalibaaniinta ayaa naga shakin jiray.

We always wondered what they knew about us.

Mar walbo waxaan la fajacsaneen waxa ee naga ogyihiin.

Were we being followed?

Miyaan nala beegsan jiray?

Do they know where we live?

Miyeey ogyihiin halka aan ku noolnahay?

We were scared,

Aaad ayaan u baqan jirnay,

but still, school was where we wanted to be.

laakin weli, Iskuulka ayuu ahaa meesha kaliya aan rabno.

I was very lucky to grow up in a family

aad baan unasiib badanahaya inaan kusoo dhex koro qoys

where education was prized and daughters were treasured.

halka waxbarasha iyo gabdhahaba aad looga qiimeeyo.

My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time.

Awoowgey waqtigisa wuxuu ahaa nin aad u cajiib leh .

A total maverick from a remote province of Afghanistan,

Aqoonyahan sare oo ka imaaday gobol aad u dheer ee ku yaalo Afgaanistan

he insisted that his daughter, my mom,

wuxuu ku adkeesaday in gabadhiisa, oo ah hooyadey,

go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father.

ay aado iskuul, misna ay arintaas darteed aabihiisa ku deeyriyay.

But my educated mother became a teacher.

Laakin hooyadeyda aqoonyahanta aheyd ayaa macalimad noqotay.

There she is.

Waa tanaa.

She retired two years ago, only to turn our house

Laba sano kahor ayeey shaqa gabtay, si ay gurigeena ugu badasho

into a school for girls and women in our neighborhood.

Iskuul wax lagu baro gabdhaha iyo dumarka dariskeena ahaay.

And my father -- that's him --

Abaahey --- waa kaa--

he was the first ever in his family to receive an education.

Wuxuu ahaa qofkii ugu horeeyay ee qoyskiisa oo wax barto.

There was no question that his children

Marnaba su'aal kama taagneen in caruurtiisa

would receive an education, including his daughters,

ay wax baran doonaan, taas oo ay kujiraan gabdhiisa,

despite the Taliban, despite the risks.

Inkastoo Taalibaan iyo halistooda ay jireen.

To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children.

Asiga ahaan, majirin halis ka daran aqoon la'aanta caruutiisa.

During Taliban years, I remember

Waxaan xasuustaa, xilayadii Taalibaaniyiinta

there were times I would get so frustrated by our life

in mararka qaar aan aad nolsheena uga niyad-jebi jiray

and always being scared and not seeing a future.

misna aan aad u cabsan jiray oo aana mustaqbal ku hamin jirin.

I would want to quit,

Waxaan rabay inaan iska dhaafo,

but my father,

laakin aabahey,

he would say,

wuxuu igu oran jiray,

"Listen, my daughter,

Maqal, gabadheey-diyeey,

you can lose everything you own in your life.

wax walbo oo aad noloshaada leedahay weey kaa dhumi karaan.

Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war.

Lacagtaada waa lagaa xadi karaa. Waqtiyada dagaalka gurigaaga xoog waalagaga baxsan karaa.

But the one thing that will always remain with you

Laakin sheyga kaliya mar walbo kuu harayo

is what is here,

waa waxa halkani ku jiro,

and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees,

xitaa hadaan dhiigeena kuu iibino si aan qarashka wax barashadada kaaga bixino,

we will.

waan ku sameen doona.

So do you still not want to continue?"

Marka miyaadan rabin inaad wadato waxbarasha-daada?"

Today I am 22.

Maanta waxaan ahay 22-jir.

I was raised in a country that has been destroyed

waxaan kusoo koray wadan aad u bur-buriyay

by decades of war.

dagaalo socday qarniyo.

Fewer than six percent of women my age have made it beyond high school,

In kayar 6% dumar da'deyda ah ayaa ilaa dugsi-ga sare dhaafay,

and had my family not been so committed to my education,

hadey familkeeyga dhanka waxbarasha-dayda ay marnaba ku dadaali laheen,

I would be one of them.

Mid kamid ah ayaan maanta ahaan lahaa.

Instead, I stand here a proud graduate of Middlebury College.

Halkan ayan badalkii istagsanahay anoo kasoo qalin jibiyay Jaamacada Middlebury.

(Applause)

(Sacbis)

When I returned to Afghanistan, my grandfather,

Goortii aan ku laabtay Afgaanistan, awoowahey,

the one exiled from his home for daring to educate his daughters,

Midkii gurigiisa looga soo eryay geesinimo uu gabdhihiisa aqoonyahaniin ugu dhigo darteed,

was among the first to congratulate me.

ayaa wuxu ka mid ahaa dadki ugu horeen ii hambalyeeyay.

He not only brags about my college degree,

Kuma faano kaliyo heerka jaamacadayda,

but also that I was the first woman,

laakin inaan ahaay dumar tii ugu horeysay,

and that I am the first woman

misna aan ahay dumar tii ugu horeso

to drive him through the streets of Kabul.

ee gaari ku dhex wado wadooyinka Kabul.

(Applause)

(Sacbis)

My family believes in me.

Qoyskeeyga weey i aaminsan yihiin.

I dream big, but my family dreams even bigger for me.

Heer sare ayaan ku riyoda, lakin famil-keyga heer ka sii sareeyo ayeey iigu sii riyodan

That's why I am a global ambassador for 10x10,

Saas darteed ayaan waxan u ahay Safiir caalamiyeed ee 10x10,

a global campaign to educate women.

Olole caalami ah oo dumarka waxbaro.

That's why I cofounded SOLA,

Saas darteed ayaa waxaan u sameenay SOLA,

the first and perhaps only boarding school

Iskuul xanaaneed kii ugu horeeyay

for girls in Afghanistan,

oo gabdhaha ah ee ku yaalo Afgaanistan,

a country where it's still risky for girls to go to school.

wadan ay weli tahay in gabdhaha ay iskuul aadaan.

The exciting thing is that I see students at my school

Sheeyga farxada leh ayaa waxay tahay inaan arko arday dhigto iskuulkeyga

with ambition grabbing at opportunity.

kuwaaso leh hami ay ku qabsadaan Jaanis.

And I see their parents and their fathers

Waxaan kaloo arkaa waalidiintooda

who, like my own, advocate for them,

kuwaaso ah kuwa sida waalidiinteyda u taageerayo,

despite and even in the face of daunting opposition.

inkastoo ay jirto wejiyada cabsida badan ee kuwa kasoo horjeeda.

Like Ahmed. That's not his real name,

Sida Ahmed. Ma ahin magaciisa rasmiga,

and I cannot show you his face,

mana idin tusi karo wejigiisa,

but Ahmed is the father of one of my students.

Laakin Ahmed waa aabaha ardayad dhigata iskul kayga.

Less than a month ago, he and his daughter

Bil wax ka yar kahor ayaa asiga iyo gabadhiisa

were on their way from SOLA to their village,

waxay u jeedeen xaafadooda ayagoo ka imaaday SOLA,

and they literally missed being killed

waxayna ku sigteen ineey ku dhintaan

by a roadside bomb by minutes.

bam loo dhigay geeska wadada daqiiqada gudahooda.

As he arrived home, the phone rang,

Markuu guriga soo gaaray, ayaa waxaa usoo dhacay taleefanka,

a voice warning him

cod u digayo

that if he sent his daughter back to school,

haduu dib gabadhiisa ugu diro iskuulka,

they would try again.

ineey isku dayayaan qaraxa mar kale

"Kill me now, if you wish," he said,

"Hada idila hadaad rabtaan," ayuu dhahay,

"but I will not ruin my daughter's future

"Laakin marnaba mustaqbalka gabadheyda kuma dheelayo

because of your old and backward ideas."

waayo waxaad wadataan feker qaliban ."

What I've come to realize about Afghanistan,

Arinta aan Afgaanistan ka ogaaday,

and this is something that is often dismissed in the West,

misna ah mid ay wadamada Galbeed-ka ay ka tageen,

that behind most of us who succeed

aya waxay tahay mid walbo anaga naga mid oo gulesytay inuu ka dambeyo

is a father who recognizes the value in his daughter

aabe og qiimaha gabadhiisa

and who sees that her success is his success.

misna arka inay guusheeda tahay guushiisa.

It's not to say that our mothers aren't key in our success.

macnaha mahin inay hooyo-yinkeena aheen furaha guusheena.

In fact, they're often the initial and convincing negotiators

Xaqiiqdi, waxay yihiin bilawga wada xaajood qancin kara

of a bright future for their daughters,

mustaqbal ifo oo ay gabdhahooda helaan,

but in the context of a society like in Afghanistan,

laakin xaalada shacab sida kuwa Afgaanistan,

we must have the support of men.

waxa qasban inaan helno taagerida raga.

Under the Taliban, girls who went to school

Sharciga Taliban, gabdhaha aaday Iskuulka

numbered in the hundreds --

kuwaaso gaarayo boqoleeyo--

remember, it was illegal.

xasuuso, waxay aheyd sharci la'aan.

But today, more than three million girls are in school in Afghanistan.

Laakin maanta, gabdho ka badan 3 million ayaa dhigta iskuulada Afgaanistan.

(Applause)

(Sacbis)

Afghanistan looks so different from here in America.

Afghanistan waxay umuuqata mid ka duwan halkaan America.

I find that Americans see the fragility in changes.

waxaan u arkaa in Amerikaanku arko burburka is badal.

I fear that these changes will not last

Waxaan ka baqanaayo in is badalkani usii socon waayo

much beyond the U.S. troops' withdrawal.

hore markii ciidamada U.S-ka laga soo bixiyo.

But when I am back in Afghanistan,

Laakin markii aan kusoo laabto Afgaanistan,

when I see the students in my school

oo aan arday ku arko iskuulkayga

and their parents who advocate for them,

iyo waalidiintooda ku taaageerayo,

who encourage them, I see a promising future

misna ku dhiira gelinayo, waxaan arkaa mustaqbal aad u ifo

and lasting change.

iyo isbadal weligiisa socdo.

To me, Afghanistan is a country of hope and boundless possibilities,

Ani ahaan, Afgaanistaan waa wadan rajo iyo suura-gal badan leh,

and every single day

misna maalin walbo

the girls of SOLA remind me of that.

gabdhaha SOLA ayaa midaas isoo xasuusiyo.

Like me, they are dreaming big.

Heer sare ayee ku riyoodaan sidayda oo kale.

Thank you.

Mahadsanidiin.

(Applause)

(Sacbis)