Females don’t have a fighting chance in Taliban-infested areas of Afghanistan. They are expected to be neither seen nor heard from. I’m sure the whole “keep ‘em barefoot and pregnant” is an apt motto in those parts, because the men certainly don’t want their women educated. During the Taliban’s 5-year reign of terror, women were banned from working or getting an education, so it makes sense they would want to return to those cherished times of oppression of women. So schoolgirls have had acid thrown in their faces, and most recently there have been several incidences (within a month) of poisonings at schools in Charikar, Afghanistan.

During the latest incident, approximately 50 teenage girls were rushed to a hospital with various symptoms of poisoning, from nausea to vomiting, with some collapsing after the smell of insecticide permeated the classrooms. One victim, 17-year-old Nour Jahan said

“I am pretty sure whoever has done this is against education for girls, but I strongly ask the parents not to be discouraged by such brutal action and send their children to school.”

She’s probably right, since the same thing happened to approximately 48 girls at another school, in the same town, 2 weeks prior.

In spite of the odds against them, and the danger these young girls face trying to get an education they are courageous enough to want to continue fighting for their rights to learn. The girls who were maimed, vowed to return to school in spite of their horrifying experience of having acid thrown on their faces while on their way to classes in Kandahar, last year.

When asked if she would stop attending school, Shamsia was quick with her response. “Why wouldn’t I want to come to school? I want our country to persevere. I have to do something for my country, I must go to school.”