I was in tenth grade when the school doors closed. I still remember the exact date and time: Sunday, August 15, 2021, at 11:24 a.m.
I still hoped that schools would reopen. I waited for a long time. Sometimes, rumors would spread that schools would reopen on Saturday. Each time, I would feel hopeful, but that Saturday never came. One Saturday passed after another, and the school doors remained closed. Little by little, I began to lose hope.
I was in tenth grade, and part of the academic year was still left. I no longer believed I would ever return to school. My education had come to a halt, and I had no idea what to do next.
There were also financial difficulties. I felt that I needed to learn at least one skill, something that could help me in the future.
So, I started learning tailoring and worked in garment production factories. Two years passed, and during that entire time, my life revolved around sewing. There were no lessons, no books, and no education. I worked from morning until night and saved some of the money I earned. I tried to save enough to buy myself a phone, and eventually, after some time, I managed to purchase a second-hand one.
Gradually, I began to feel independent. I could buy some of my own clothes and personal necessities with my own money. But amid the busyness of work, I had forgotten about studying. I could no longer even remember the last time I had bought myself a pen and a notebook.
I spent two years working as a tailor, never imagining that I would return to education. But one night, something small happened that changed the course of my life—a spark.
My sister brought me her homework notebook and asked me to help her solve some math problems. I was really tired, but I agreed. I thought the questions would be easy: addition, subtraction, square roots, and powers.
But when I opened the notebook and looked at the questions, I suddenly realized that I knew nothing about them. I stared at the page, unable to figure out where to begin. The harder I tried to remember, the less I could recall.
That moment was deeply painful. The same girl who had once been at the top of her class could no longer solve a simple math problem. Sadly, I told my sister, “I can’t solve it.”
To others, it might have been just a math problem. But for me, that night was a wake-up call—a spark that pushed me toward change. I spent the entire night thinking: Where was I heading? I had once been a top student, and now I couldn’t even solve a single math problem. What had happened to the Sajida who dreamed of becoming a politician and defending people’s rights?
I knew that education and learning were among the most important paths to progress. So why was I acting against something I believed in so deeply? I was only 17 at the time, but that night I understood that if I did not take responsibility for my future, no one else could do it for me.
That realization ignited a spark in my mind. I decided to start learning again. I left tailoring behind and used the money I had saved to begin studying English. In 2024, I completed my English language course and graduated. But that was only the beginning of my journey.
Afterward, I learned public speaking and presentation skills, completing that course toward the end of the same year. Gradually, I began attending seminars and hosting cultural and recreational events.
My energy and passion for speaking opened up more opportunities for me to participate in different programs. I started reading motivational books and joined online educational programs in journalism, hosting, and creative writing.
I did not completely abandon tailoring. This time, I continued practicing it mainly as a skill and occasionally as a source of income. Later, I learned about the EBA educational program. At first, I could hardly believe that it was real, but it was—and I became a student again. In 2026, with the support of this valuable educational program, I graduated from twelfth grade.
After completing my school education, the path to learning took on a new meaning for me. Today, I study law and politics at an online university for women, and I participate in academic discussions alongside other Afghan girls.
When I look back today, even I find my journey remarkable. I was once a girl whose education had come to a standstill in tenth grade; a girl who spent two whole years sewing from morning until night and could no longer remember the last time she had bought herself a pen. Today, I participate in seminars and social and media events, teach English, study at university, and join academic discussions alongside other Afghan girls.
Perhaps reading this story takes no more than five minutes, but I have lived those five minutes over several years of my life. Behind every short sentence in this story are days that I truly lived through.
I once thought that the closure of my school’s doors meant the end of my educational journey. Today, I know it was only the end of one path. Another path still existed.
Perhaps that is what my entire story comes down to: I began in a place where my voice had been lost in the shadows, but step by step, I found a way to discover my voice again.
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