Children get gifts, clothes, sweets, and love from their near and dear ones. They also make special handmade Eid greetings for their friends. Women cook special foods. It is a time to create an ambience of triumph, love, and happiness. Relatives and friends visit each other’s houses to share a delicious meal.
For three days, we kept this news from our parents. After three days, the wedding was over and I called my older brother and told him my brother-in-law got sick and had to have an operation. I didn’t tell the truth because my brother-in-law said I should keep it secret since he didn’t want to make my family unhappy after my cousin’s wedding.
One day, one of our neighbors came to our house to take water from our well since they did not have drinkable water in their home. When she saw how depressed I was she asked my mother what was wrong.
Just after I entered the university, dark times came into my life. I was forced to stay home for five years during the Taliban regime. I will never forget this long period in my life. During that time, I didn’t stop trying. I told my parents I wanted to do something. I opened a secret class for English and our own national subjects for girl students in my area.
History is changed by the small actions of ordinary people. —Zahra A.
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