Inside a Girls Madrasa in Pakistan
By Farhana Ali
The following item appeared in The Washington Post Travel Section, March 30, 2008
Ancient History,
Modern Girls
I've been fascinated by the way girls are treated in Pakistan since I was a girl myself and traveled there to visit extended family. Still, I never quite understood their predicament until I stepped inside a madrasa in
Quetta in 2005. "I realized that there was nothing for these girls," the local imam told me. "When the madrasa opened, I convinced the men — mostly of Afghan origin — to allow their girls an education."
An encounter with these young women was like reliving ancient history. Behind the iron gates, girls as young as 8 memorized the Koran; they also mended clothes and cooked their own food. "Don't you want to see life outside of the school?" I asked a young teacher. Her response still stings me: "Of course we have desires, but we learn to suppress them." -- Farhana Ali, Fairfax
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