The Afghan Malala: shot by the Taliban, college student Breshna Musazai defies the odds to graduate with honours
Paralysed by polio in one leg and wounded by the Taliban in the other, Breshna Musazai now plans to seek a master’s degree in law or human rights
The moment Breshna Musazai climbed onto the stage in a black cap and gown, leaning on a walking frame and her brother’s arm, the audience burst into applause.
Of the 139 students who received bachelor’s degrees at the American University of Afghanistan on May 11, Musazai, 28, was the indisputable star. Paralysed by polio in one leg and shot by insurgents in the other, she had triumphed.
“When I looked at the audience, everybody stood for me,” she said in an interview at her home here. “It was a very proud moment.”
Her perseverance is remarkable, given the obstacles to higher education that Afghan girls face, even without physical disabilities. Many girls’ schools are closed in areas that the Taliban controls or contests. About 80 girls’ schools closed last week in eastern Nangahar province after Islamic State said it would attack the schools, according to media reports.
About half of all Afghan children between ages 7 and 17 are not in school, 60 per cent of that group being girls, according to a Unicef report released this month. Even in government-controlled areas, a low percentage of girls go to college after finishing high school: Many conservative families do not allow their daughters to remain in school after puberty and arrange for them to marry instead.