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RISE TO PEACEThe way of the word over the way of the gun Donate

women-youth · 1990s–2010s

His Sister’s Education Was Taken Away—Then She Built It Back

Homa was locked out of school during the Taliban years, later taught herself, earned a degree and went on to work in development and education environments associated with USAID, UNDP and Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education. Her path became part of Shah’s lifelong belief that women’s access to education is inseparable from peace and opportunity.

The story

What happened—and what it changed.

This chapter explains why family, education and personal responsibility sit beneath the public institution. The lesson was not that hardship automatically produces strength; it was that people deliberately created openings for one another when institutions and ordinary routines had broken down.