Dear Annie,
I am sorry for late response. I was working on a grad school application that I am planning to submit before 15th January. Otherwise, I would have replied to you earlier.
I am delighted to hear about the "Fulfill the Potential" scholarship and the efforts of Smith Alum like you to reach out to women from poor and most deserving countries that have suffered from conflict. This is a big and important step and I, as a member of Smith Community, appreciate it greatly. Coming from a country in conflict, Afghanistan, I can appreciate the difference that such programs create in lives of young women from poor families and developing countries. Every time I learn something new in college, and being in Smith that happens often, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for having this opportunity and I hope and pray hard for a day when more women can have a similar opportunity. I wish a day will come when I can too, contribute to efforts for women's education.
I come from a family of educators in Afghanistan. My mother is a teacher in elementary school and is in the same time pursuing a college degree in education. My father does not have a university degree and is self educated. He is a political activist, writer and journalist and holds classes in history, literature and politics voluntarily for young people who are interested to these issues. My parents were instrumental in my access to education and made many sacrifices to make a better education possible for me and my siblings.
I have four sisters and two brothers. My older sister, Rada, is an artist and works for a NGO in Kabul and is currently the main breadwinner for the family. My younger sister Zubaida got a full scholarship to go to high school in Switzerland and is currently a senior and applying to colleges (Smith is one of her top choices). Noorjahan, 16, came to USA this year and goes to George School in Newtown, PA. She is a junior in high school. A generous financial aid package, Anderson Scholarship and the generous help of our American friends and families made it possible for her to receive a good quality education. My youngest sister Fatima and my two younger brothers Ibrahim and Zabihullah, are all going to school in Kabul.
I am a senior and an Anthropology major, Third World Studies minor. I am interested in pursuing a MA degree in Development Studies and returning to Afghanistan to work for education and gender development in a community level. My first choice for grad school is Oxford University. I think that the program that they offer (Mphil in Development Studies) will prepare me best for my career plans. The program will prepare me through giving me an opportunity to critically and closely investigate different development theories, focusing on the developing world and issues like conflict, ethnicity, human rights and women's issues. Through this program, I would be able to critically observe not only the role of culture, economy and gender in development but also the theory and behavior of development organizations themselves. In long term I am hoping that the program will prepare me to be useful for my community and my country and to follow my passion, and hopefully have a part in realizing the Afghan dream for peace and stability, good local governance and economic sustainability.
I got a letter of acceptance from Oxford on Dec 16th and I am thrilled. But still there is a huge obstacle that I have to overcome before realizing my dream. Oxford doesn't offer financial aid to its students, thus, I have applied to two very competitive scholarships which I will know about in April. I am determined to try my best to find support for studying in Oxford, but to be on the safe side, I am also applying to four other schools that offer various forms of aid. I am very nervous about financial aid because without it, I would have to discontinue my higher education. I am taking out student loans from Smith currently and it would be very challenging to pay them working in Afghanistan. For that reason, I have decided to go to grad school only if they provide me with full financial aid or scholarship, I can't afford to take out any more loans and I may have to delay my higher education if I don't get any. Let's see what happens. If you know any foundations or organizations that provide help for grad school, that would be most helpful. My hope is that I will be able to continue to equip myself with the knowledge and skills necessary to realize my and my family's aspiration.
I also request/hope that "Fulfill the potential" initiative pays extra attention to women from our part of the world, specially women from Afghanistan. Most of the families in my country are unable to provide any kind of financial support for their children's education. A few, elite families that can support their kids' education to a certain extent are very reluctant when it comes to women's education. The educational system has been harshly damaged by years of civil war and Taliban's role. The current educational system is not only old, outdated and inefficient, but also male-dominated and very discriminatory against women. The hope for Afghanistan's future is in its people and their readiness to take over their destiny and lead country to a better situation, this hope wouldn't realize without full participation of women. Sometimes I lose hope and I think the world leaders would let us down once again, but initiatives like your effort gives me hope. Educating a woman is educating a family and eventually a community. Women are most likely to return back to their homeland and work for its prosperity. I hope that "Fulfill the potential" scholarship gives Afghan women and women from other parts of the world the wings that have been cut by their male dominated societies.
I pray for your success. If I can do anything in anyway, please let me know.
Regards,
Shaharzad Akbar
