December 13, 2003

Salma belonged to a very poor and backward family. She was the youngest daughter of the family of seven children. Her father worked in a small factory and her mother worked in other people’s houses. Her parents were often fighting and arguing over money.

She had only one brother. Her parents loved their son a lot more than their daughters. They did not like their daughters much, they only loved their son and considered him much better than their daughters. They pandered to every whim of his. So he became very spoiled. They even wanted to get him educated. But he never had the desire to study.

Her father always said that it was impossible for any girl of his family to ever get educated. When Salma was very young, she had promised herself to prove her father wrong. She decided herself that she did not want to have a future just like her parents. She wanted to have a bright future. With this in mind she always worked hard.

Salma had to make great sacrifices to study. She also had to work in houses to earn money for her family. She studied at night, in her small, noisy and dirty home. Often there was no light in her house or there was always a lot of mess and noise in her surroundings. So she studied outside her house in the street lights. Her brother and other sisters played all day long, and she studied. Her parents were also much opposed to her studying. They wanted her to work. So they also scolded her and beat her. Nevertheless, Salma endured everything. She used to work as well as study. There was also a lot of difficulty in paying her school fees.

On the other hand, her parents tried their best to get their son educated. They did everything so he could get a proper education. But he never took any interest in his education and always failed his examinations.

Soon however, Salma completed high school. No one in her family had ever completed high school. Salma also got admission to a good college. She now began to work extra hard to get money to pay for her college fees. Her father was very ill, and he had to quit his job. So there was even more difficulty. Her parents asked her to leave college. But Salma trusted God, and carried on with her studies. She started to do all kinds of jobs, from sewing clothes to giving tuitions to working in others’ houses. And time passed like this.

Salma then finished college. Salma worked for a scholarship. And she got it! It was like a dream come true for her. She had got a scholarship for United States to pursue her medical studies. What more could she want. Soon she packed for her departure, and left, despite pressures from her family and relatives not to leave.

And then Salma completed her medical education with flying colours. That was the happiest day of her life. She was filled with ecstasy and jubilation. At last, after a long and difficult journey, she had proved her father wrong that no girl could ever get educated in their family. She had proved to her parent’s that a daughter was much much better than a son. She had worked out to bring a great change in her life as well as for the future generations, and had made sure that she would not live the life that her parents and other relatives had lived. If she had not worked hard she would have to live the sad and unhappy life just like her parents had lived.

Salma became a very famous and successful doctor. But her brother, who was given all the comforts and love his parents could provide, and her other sisters, lived that life which Salma had always loathed and hated.

Just like Salma, we too have the potential to bring a change in our lives and our future generations. We can work through even the most difficult situations and get the best out of them. But It’s only and only up to us whether we want to make a difference in our lives or not. It’s only up to us.

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