THREE years ago, I was one of the last girls in Afghanistan to take the Kankor exam under the Taliban regime. I scored 305 out of 360 marks in the national university entrance exam in Afghanistan, and was accepted into the law faculty of Kabul University. My dream career was finally within my reach. I left my home in Jawzjan in great excitement to start my university life but the next day things changed; everything changed. The Taliban regime banned all universities for girls. I packed my bag in silence and returned home.

My dreams were shattered, and there was isolation, depression and tears. I stayed home, unable to study, thinking about the future I could no longer reach. Every day felt heavier than the last. I applied for many scholarships, but getting a visa as an Afghan girl was almost impossible. The hope I had slowly faded.

One day, I applied for Pakistan’s Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarship for Afghan Students. I did that without expecting anything. One midnight, I got an email stating that I had been selected. I still remember that night. I could not sleep at all. It all felt like a dream, the kind you do not dare to believe is true.

However, it was just the beginning of another struggle. I needed a passport, and mine had only four months left before it was to expire. Under the Taliban regime, getting a passport was close to impossible. My sister found someone who promised to get it extended from Iran for a huge amount of money, but he disappeared.

I lost hope again, but decided to apply for the visa with the short-validity pass-port. Cutting a long story short, I did cross the passport hurdle, and my father accompanied me to Peshawar. He was old and tired, but my father took that difficult journey just to giveme, his child, a future.

A couple of months later, I got admission to the Department of International Relations of the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. This was the real beginning. Initially, I did not know even a single word of Urdu. When I entered my class for the first time, I felt like an alien. I could not understand the teacher and could not speak to my classmates. But slowly things changed. Teachers were a big help, and I started picking up words; one word from each conversation. Now I can understand Urdu much better and feel like a part of the class.

The university has become my home. My classmates are my family. I have spent four Eids here without my own family. I miss them a lot, especially my mother. But I have done all this for a reason, for myself, for my family who believed in me, and for my country that still awaits a better future.

Not every journey is this beautiful, but every step can be meaningful. I carry Afghanistan in my heart, and one day I hope to return to my home country stronger to build a nation where no girl ever has to pack her dreams in a bag again.

Shogofa Shokori
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025