Written piece
Unheard voice of Pashtoonabad
Tahira Dawood shah
Pakistan
About this piece
This is real story of myself.I tried to give a glimpse of my tough and rough childhood and my struggle along with my family.This is a story of a girl from Pashtoonabad, the backward area ,situated in Quetta, Balochistan.
Amidst the long, and oozing mountains,
A small baby was born and has sharp brain.
With little money, food and resources,
She fights against all negative forces
I was born to the parents who could hardly manage two meals a day. Only the male children attended school females were not allowed. One of my brothers requested my father to send daughters to school. My father agreed but unable to bear expenses. My brother worked as a watchman while he was in grade 9. He sent us to school. The government primary has only one washroom for grades 1 to 5, while each grade has two sections. There was no drinking water.I was five years old, and every day, I walked for 30 minutes to go to school without a lunch box due to poverty. Every person in the town humiliated my family for educating girls. Ignoring all, my family supported me, though they couldn't manage to buy even proper stationery. When I became taller, I made uniform longer by adding one more piece of cloth. The family couldn't afford to buy new uniform. Every student in the class made fun of me, but I focused on my studies.In grade 6, I borrowed books during break, learned a lesson for the next day, and returned the books to my friend. My youngest brother did night duty in the newspaper office to cover my expenses for M.Phil. Once, I tried for a government job and secured the first position in my union council, but I was refused, being told that there was no vacancy and I am ineligible for this post as I had only completed matriculation according to report,At that time, I was scholar of M.Phil.I broke in tears; my brother and all the family tried hard to give me new hope. .Later, with family support, I became a govt officer ,made everyone pride and motivate many for girls education.I am proudly saying that I have been working as a judge in the Commonwealth essay competition.