“I was six when the Taliban took over and made it illegal for girls to go to school. For the next five years, I attended several secret schools. At times, I was forced to dress as a boy to escort my older sister to a secret school, who was no longer allowed to be outside alone,” Shabana Basij-Rasikh said as I sat listening on the floor in my family’s New York City apartment. At the time, she was 22, about five feet tall and extremely soft spoken, but she spoke with such conviction that her voice captured the room. I was six years old and remember holding my breath, anticipating what she would say next. She went on to recount how she founded The School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), the first and only all-girls boarding school in Afghanistan. Though I did not know it, Shabana would become my first female mentor.
Every time Shabana passed through New York, she visited us and shared updates about SOLA’s expansion, and her efforts to recruit students from all 34 Afghan provinces. Her mission, as she relayed to me in Rwanda, was and is to create “a generation of female leaders who would be so highly skilled that, as they go out into the workforce in Afghanistan, their skill sets and confidence will speak for itself. Instead of them saying, ‘give me my rights,’ their presence will shake things to a point where all of those misconceptions about a woman and her intelligence would totally be shattered.”
Her ambition inspired me. As I entered high school, I, too, was looking to shatter any misconceptions I held about my own limits. I decided I wanted to leave home and finish high school abroad. That summer, as I comfortably pondered my own potential move, a move was forced upon Shabana and the girls of SOLA when Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021. Shabana managed to safely evacuate all 256 members of the SOLA community to Rwanda. She said the country’s experience during the Rwandan genocide inspired locals to kindly welcome the SOLA girls. Some of her local contacts made the connection clear, she told me, saying, We know what it is like to be taken from your home. We have made it back home, and one day you too will make it back home. Until then, welcome home to Rwanda.
Watching Shabana pursue her passion inspired me to do the same. I applied to United World College (UWC) in Wales because of its focus on global educational empowerment. When I was accepted, she was one of the first people I told.
Studying at UWC, I noticed parallels between the stories Shabana told me and the experiences of my classmates. As I understood the ubiquity of harsh realities faced by women all over the world, I wanted to follow in Shabana’s footsteps. I joined my school’s feminist council to implement gender-parity programs and led a three-day conference on matriarchal societies. I took my passion for feminism into the classroom, applying the study of women’s rights to all my subjects — even math!
This summer, I visited SOLA for the first time. While I was nervous as I boarded the flight to Rwanda alone, my fear evaporated when I arrived at the school, met by six girls, ranging from ages 10 to 16. They eagerly opened the car door for me, grinning as they ushered me to the room I would be sharing with them. Though it was their summer holiday, they were here at SOLA taking special classes and chosen activities because they could not go back home to their families. I joined them in fun courses such as creative writing and outdoor games. The girls explained to me that they not only take standard subjects like math but also partake in leadership courses and Islamic studies. Over my two weeks there, I was astonished by the students’ positive attitudes and commitment to school. Despite the fact that they were exiled from home, these girls pursued their passion for learning with confidence, grace, and strength. When I asked the students what kept them motivated, one answered: “When I see Shabana, it is like I am seeing hope.”
Towards the end of my stay, Shabana arrived in Rwanda. When she walked through the gates of SOLA, the girls flooded the entrance, welcoming her with their open arms.
Across an almost impassable divide of time, space and circumstances, Shabana has inspired me to change my life. She has shown me the importance of female mentorship. I have seen how women can lift each other up across cultures and generations. Even though the future is uncertain, Shabana has given me hope. I feel certain that through women like Shabana we can combat systemic inequalities and create a more equitable, peaceful, and sustainable future. Sometimes, we can’t see what we’re capable of until someone else turns a mirror toward us and reflects our own light back to us. Shabana has shown me that young women everywhere hold power within themselves to change the world.
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