Name: Bahara
Province: Bamiyan
Before the Taliban takeover, I was in the ninth grade. I still remember our last class. That day, our math teacher spoke about the dark memories of the first Taliban regime, and we all wished they would never return to Afghanistan.
But our wishes did not come true. Everything the teacher warned us about became reality. I was deprived of my right to education simply because I am a girl.
The day I heard that the Taliban had closed school gates to girls above the sixth grade, I lost consciousness from fear and shock. I was taken to the hospital. Since then, my mental health has deteriorated so severely that I have attempted suicide several times.
I do not know how long this situation will last. People around me say I have gone mad. They suggest that getting married might “cure” me. But they do not understand. I do not know who to cry to or where to turn. No one truly feels what we are going through.
What if someone in power, someone responsible, would truly listen to our voices and open the school doors again?
