By Elyas Ahmadi
On May first, Shukria Rezayi* checked her email account nervously. After weeks of waiting, she had almost given up hope. But finally, an email arrived that could change her life.
It was from the University of Lynchburg in Virginia, advising her that she had been granted a full scholarship to study medicine.
The news brought immense joy to Shukria, her parents and her teachers at Dokhtaran-e-Danayi, the Daughters of Wisdom Educational Center.
Shukria had narrowly survived a suicide bomb attack on her class at the Kaaj tuition center last November. Fifty-five students were killed and dozens injured as they were sitting a practice university exam. All were female. Shukria was walking to the class when she heard of the explosion.
Weeks later the Taliban banned girls and women from attending university.
Shukria decided to focus on improving her English to try to win a scholarship abroad.
“It was the end of April when I took the Duolingo exam and managed to score 100,” she says. “After that, I applied to seven universities in Germany and America, and luckily I got an offer from the University of Lynchburg.”
It was the only university that responded.
University of Lynchburg email to Shukria.
But there was one problem. To take up the offer, Shukria would have to travel to a third country to obtain a US visa. There is no longer a functioning US embassy in Afghanistan. So her father Bashir * immediately applied for a visa to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s online visa registration centers advised it could take from eight to ten weeks.
“Some said 16 working days and when I asked my friends, they said no, it will take longer,” he says.
But there is no guarantee of receiving a Pakistan visa, even after a long wait. Shukria and her father knew that there was a big obstacle in front of them. Her father felt he had no choice. He decided to try to get a visa in the black market.
The prices were impossibly high, as much as 1500 US dollars for a guaranteed express visa, many times the cost of a normal visa which is 8 US dollars. Bashir Rezayi has been unemployed since the Taliban came to power.
“Before the Taliban, I was a teacher at the Farhad High School which is a private school and sometimes I was doing legal work that didn’t earn much,” he says. “It would have been hard enough to live. But I’ve had no work since the Taliban regained power.”
After waiting 20 days for a normal visa with no success, he decided on a last, desperate plan. He would not let his daughter miss the opportunity to go university after all the dangers and insecurities she had faced. He would sell one of his kidneys to pay the black-market price.
“There were many explosions in educational centers; But my daughter endangered her life and went to the course,” he says. “Why should not I sell a part of my body so that Shukria can study?”
Bashir Rezayi is just one of many parents who could soon be facing this problem.
Bashir Rezayi, Shukria’s father/ photo: Rukhshana media.
Baqir Niazi, Shukria’s teacher at Daughters of Wisdom, said he and his colleagues were hoping to find scholarships from American universities for dozens of their students.
“We wanted to prepare 30 female students for the mentorship program with which they can get a scholarship,” he says. “Nine other girls have also been admitted. Fortunately, Shukria is the first girl who received a scholarship worth 54,000 US dollars per year, and her work has been finalized by the university. This was good news for us and Shukria’s family.”
But when Mr. Niazi heard that her father was ready to sell one of his kidneys so that he could get his daughter to Pakistan, he felt conflicted.
“On the one hand, I was very sad, on the other hand, I was happy that the education of girls is so valuable for a father.”
But finding the money may not be as simple as selling a body part. Bashir spoke to a doctor who advised him it may not be a quick solution.
“You should be checked, and the necessary tests should be done on you. Then wait for a person with that profile to be found who needs a kidney,” Mr. Rezayi says. “Again, the price of your kidney will not solve your problems.”
Still, he intends to try. And in the future he wants to help Shukria’s younger sister and brother get to university too.
“Wherever there is no knowledge, ignorance reigns. We are in dire need of education in our homeland, not only that we need it, but it is our human and Islamic right. In His first words, God did not speak about conquering countries, nor about the formation of a military, but said, “read”.
His message to other families is to not give up hope.
“This situation shall pass. Every house should become a school in this situation. We must not stop learning. Anyone who knows more should teach others at home.”
Shukria’s mother has also encouraged her to keep studying, overcoming her own fears of the dangers her daughter faced.
“My mother completed her LLM at the Islamic Azad University. In fact, she was the one who told me that only studying can save me from all problems,” Shukria says. “My mother studied medicine for several semesters; but due to some problems, she could not continue. Now I want to choose my mother’s path.”
Shukria is worried that she might lose her scholarship if she cannot reach Pakistan soon. She is overwhelmed by what her father is prepared to do to try to save her dream from being shattered.
“The issue of selling my father’s kidney for my education made me really emotional. My father wants to sell parts of his body for my education, not every father would do such a thing for his daughter.”
*Note: At the request of the interviewees, some names have been chosen as pseudonyms.
