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My name is Rashida Bibi and I live in Basti lungah. I studied in school till the 3rd grade and then I was forced to leave. I come from a conservative, tribal area where education is frowned upon. Despite having achieved many accolades during my schooling years- I was still forced to leave. Education is seen as a tool of empowerment for women and the men in my society are threatened by it. The local community convinced my father to stop my education.
I was forced to stay at home and help my mother with domestic work. Even though I am only 12 years old, I felt the burden of the world on my shoulders. We are 11 siblings in total, and my female siblings have also been banned from receiving an education. Even though I dreamed of receiving an education I understood that my dreams were not within reach.

As I inched closer to giving up my dream, Bunyad Foundation found a way to save me from my suffering. Bunyad foundation visited my school under the project “Support to national capacity building to realize the girls’ right to education” funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affair and coordinated by UNESCO and the Department of Education, South Punjab. The project provided facilities to the school such as installing a bathroom and rehabilitation of classrooms. In addition, Bunyad created a youth group consisting of fathers, mothers, and daughters to raise awareness regarding female education.
Bunyad taught the youth groups their vision, objectives, and how their aims were to be executed. They also spoke to my family and told them about the importance of education in Islam. After telling my family the importance of education in Islam, my family decided to put my sisters and me in school! My father drops and picks me up from school every day and defends me from the naysayers in my community. I was able to rejoin school as a 5th grader and looking forward to fulfilling my dreams of receiving an education. Thanks to UNESCO and Bunyad, Foundation for helping me achieve my dream!