He runs errands as a labourer, being the breadwinner for his family… but, he knows the importance of education! So, he travels 12km every day to take his daughters to the school. With the news spreading via social media, the Global Community has showered praises on Afghan national Mia Khan.
Khan is a resident of central Sharana of Afghanistan’s Paktika Province, near Pakistan border. The area is still controlled by the Talibans. Hence, local girls usually avoid going to school. However, Khan is a different person… he encourages his daughters to attend school. As there is no school in his locality, Khan travels 12km with his daughters every day, and waits outside during the school hours. He returns home with the daughters in the afternoon.

Mia Khan with his daughter Rozi

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan recently shared the story on its Facebook page, stating that Khan wants his daughters to become doctors as there is no female doctor in Sharana. “I am illiterate, and I live on a daily wage, but my daughters’ education is very valuable to me because there is no female doctor in our area. It is my greatest desire to educate my daughters like my sons,” said Khan, the father of three daughters, two of whom are in the sixth grade and one is in the fifth grade.
Rozi, one of Khan’s daughters who is in the sixth standard, has thanked his father for always encouraging her. She told the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan: “I am so happy that I study. I am in grade six this year. My dad or brother brings us on a motorcycle every day to the school and when we leave, he brings us home again.”

Rozi

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan is an NGO, working on education, health care, community governance, and rural livelihood in the war-ravaged South Asian nation. The NGO has set up the Nooraniya School for Girls, where Khan’s daughters study.

Rozi with her classmates

Khan, by his actions, has proven that a father’s love for his daughter knows no bounds. Perhaps, this Afghan man will inspire his countrymen to accept their responsibilities, and to value the importance of education in their daughters’ lives…

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das