ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shabana Basij-Rasikh - Educator
Shabana Basij-Rasikh helps girls and young women in Afghanistan get an education.

Why you should listen

Shabana Basij-Rasikh was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, she dressed as a boy to escort her older sister to a secret school -- with dire consequences if they were caught. She attended a high school in America under the YES exchange program, and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont. During college, she founded HELA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Afghan women through education. She also raised funds through foundations and public talks across the US to build a high school for girls in her ancestral village, and to build wells on the outskirts of Kabul to give communities access to clean drinking water.

An enthusiast of systemic change and community impact, Basij-Rasikh was selected as one of Glamour's Top 10 College Women of 2010, and was awarded the Vermont Campus Compact 2011 Kunin Public Award for outstanding public service, effective leadership and community-building. Now, Shabana has joined 10×10 as a Global Ambassador, supporting a global action campaign that links nonprofits, corporations, philanthropists, policy leaders, global influencers and grassroots activists in a movement to support girls’ education. She is managing director of SOLA (School of Leadership, Afghanistan), a nonprofit that helps exceptional young Afghan women access education worldwide and jobs back home.

More profile about the speaker
Shabana Basij-Rasikh | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxWomen 2012

Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to educate Afghan girls

Shabana basiji-rasikh: Car gabdhaha Afghanistiyiinta wax bar

Filmed:
1,085,179 views

Qiyaas wadan gabdhihiisu ay u dhuumanayaan iskuulka, hadii la qabtana iyagoo wax baranaya ay cawaaqib xumo la kulmayaan. Tani waxay ahayd Afghanistan oo ay ka talinayeen Taliban, misna maanta ay calaamadaha halistaas ay weli jirto. 22-jir Shabana Basij-Rasih waxay leedahay iskuul ku yaalo Afghanistan. Waxay u dabaal dageesa awooda go'aan ee qoys kuwaaso aaminay gabdhahooda-- misna waxay noo sheegeesa aabe geesi ah oo u istaagay hanjabaad kaga imaanaysay dadkiisa.
- Educator
Shabana Basij-Rasikh helps girls and young women in Afghanistan get an education. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
When I was 11,
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11-jir markaan ahaay,
00:18
I remember waking up one morning to the sound of joy in my house.
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Waxaan xasuustaa inaan subax kusoo kacay dhawaaq farxadeed oo gurigeena ka jiray.
00:22
My father was listening to BBC News
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aabahay waxuu dhagaysanaayay aqbaacta BBC-da
00:25
on his small, gray radio.
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raadiyihiisa yaraa ee dambasta u ekaay.
00:29
There was a big smile on his face which was unusual then,
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Wejigiisa waxa ka muuqday dhoolacadeen aad u weyn oo aan caadi aheen waqtigaas,
00:32
because the news mostly depressed him.
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maxaa yelay aqbaaradka marwalbo wey niyad jebin jireen.
00:36
"The Taliban are gone!" my father shouted.
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" Taalibaaniintii weey baxeen!" ayuu aabehey mar qura ku dhawaaqay.
00:41
I didn't know what it meant,
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ma'aanan ogeyn wuxuu ula jeedo,
00:43
but I could see that my father was very, very happy.
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laakin waxan arki karay inuu aabahey aad iyo aad u faraxsanaa.
00:49
"You can go to a real school now," he said.
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"Hada waxaad aadi kartaa iskuul dhab ah ", Ayuu yiri.
00:57
A morning that I will never forget.
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Subax aanan weligeey hilmaami doonin.
01:02
A real school.
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Iskuul dhab ah.
01:07
You see, I was six when the Taliban took over Afghanistan
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Sida aad u jeedid, waxaan jiray 6 sano markay Taliban qabsadeen Afgaanistan
01:10
and made it illegal for girls to go to school.
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misna ay soo rogeen ineey mamnuc tahay gabar ineey iskuul aado.
01:14
So for the next five years, I dressed as a boy
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Shanti sano ee soo socotay, waxaan ulabisan jiray sida wiil
01:17
to escort my older sister, who was no longer allowed
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si aan u ilaaliyo walaashey, oo markaas loo ogoleen
01:20
to be outside alone, to a secret school.
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ineey banaan si kali ah u aado oo ay si qarsoodi ah u dhigato Iskuul.
01:25
It was the only way we both could be educated.
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waxay ahayd wadada kaliya aan labadeenaba aqoon yahano ku noqon karno.
01:30
Each day, we took a different route
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waxaan maalin walbo mari jirnay wada kala duwan
01:33
so that no one would suspect where we were going.
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si ay qofna nooga shakinin meesha aan usocono
01:37
We would cover our books in grocery bags
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Waxaan buugaagteena ku dabooli jirnay baagaga adeega
01:39
so it would seem we were just out shopping.
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si ay u muuqato inaan soo adeeganeenay.
01:45
The school was in a house,
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Iskuulku wuxuu ku dhexyaalay guri,
01:48
more than 100 of us packed in one small living room.
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In ka badan 100 anaga ah ayaa waxa nalagu xareen jiray qol jiif oo yar.
01:53
It was cozy in winter but extremely hot in summer.
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waqtiga jiilalka wuu iska yara roona laakin xagaaga aad buu ukululaay.
01:59
We all knew we were risking our lives --
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Nolosheena inaan halis galineeno waan ogeen--
02:02
the teacher, the students and our parents.
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macalimiinta, ardayda iyo waalidiinteenaba.
02:06
From time to time, the school would suddenly be canceled
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waqti walbo waxaala baajin jiray iskuulka
02:08
for a week because Taliban were suspicious.
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ilaa iyo hal isbuuc maxa yelay Taalibaaniinta ayaa naga shakin jiray.
02:12
We always wondered what they knew about us.
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Mar walbo waxaan la fajacsaneen waxa ee naga ogyihiin.
02:15
Were we being followed?
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Miyaan nala beegsan jiray?
02:18
Do they know where we live?
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Miyeey ogyihiin halka aan ku noolnahay?
02:22
We were scared,
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Aaad ayaan u baqan jirnay,
02:24
but still, school was where we wanted to be.
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laakin weli, Iskuulka ayuu ahaa meesha kaliya aan rabno.
02:31
I was very lucky to grow up in a family
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aad baan unasiib badanahaya inaan kusoo dhex koro qoys
02:35
where education was prized and daughters were treasured.
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halka waxbarasha iyo gabdhahaba aad looga qiimeeyo.
02:41
My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time.
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Awoowgey waqtigisa wuxuu ahaa nin aad u cajiib leh .
02:46
A total maverick from a remote province of Afghanistan,
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Aqoonyahan sare oo ka imaaday gobol aad u dheer ee ku yaalo Afgaanistan
02:50
he insisted that his daughter, my mom,
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wuxuu ku adkeesaday in gabadhiisa, oo ah hooyadey,
02:53
go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father.
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ay aado iskuul, misna ay arintaas darteed aabihiisa ku deeyriyay.
03:00
But my educated mother became a teacher.
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Laakin hooyadeyda aqoonyahanta aheyd ayaa macalimad noqotay.
03:03
There she is.
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Waa tanaa.
03:06
She retired two years ago, only to turn our house
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Laba sano kahor ayeey shaqa gabtay, si ay gurigeena ugu badasho
03:09
into a school for girls and women in our neighborhood.
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Iskuul wax lagu baro gabdhaha iyo dumarka dariskeena ahaay.
03:14
And my father -- that's him --
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Abaahey --- waa kaa--
03:19
he was the first ever in his family to receive an education.
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Wuxuu ahaa qofkii ugu horeeyay ee qoyskiisa oo wax barto.
03:26
There was no question that his children
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Marnaba su'aal kama taagneen in caruurtiisa
03:28
would receive an education, including his daughters,
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ay wax baran doonaan, taas oo ay kujiraan gabdhiisa,
03:33
despite the Taliban, despite the risks.
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Inkastoo Taalibaan iyo halistooda ay jireen.
03:37
To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children.
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Asiga ahaan, majirin halis ka daran aqoon la'aanta caruutiisa.
03:46
During Taliban years, I remember
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Waxaan xasuustaa, xilayadii Taalibaaniyiinta
03:49
there were times I would get so frustrated by our life
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in mararka qaar aan aad nolsheena uga niyad-jebi jiray
03:54
and always being scared and not seeing a future.
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misna aan aad u cabsan jiray oo aana mustaqbal ku hamin jirin.
03:58
I would want to quit,
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Waxaan rabay inaan iska dhaafo,
04:01
but my father,
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laakin aabahey,
04:04
he would say,
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wuxuu igu oran jiray,
04:06
"Listen, my daughter,
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Maqal, gabadheey-diyeey,
04:09
you can lose everything you own in your life.
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wax walbo oo aad noloshaada leedahay weey kaa dhumi karaan.
04:12
Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war.
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Lacagtaada waa lagaa xadi karaa. Waqtiyada dagaalka gurigaaga xoog waalagaga baxsan karaa.
04:16
But the one thing that will always remain with you
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Laakin sheyga kaliya mar walbo kuu harayo
04:19
is what is here,
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waa waxa halkani ku jiro,
04:22
and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees,
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xitaa hadaan dhiigeena kuu iibino si aan qarashka wax barashadada kaaga bixino,
04:27
we will.
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waan ku sameen doona.
04:30
So do you still not want to continue?"
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Marka miyaadan rabin inaad wadato waxbarasha-daada?"
04:35
Today I am 22.
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Maanta waxaan ahay 22-jir.
04:39
I was raised in a country that has been destroyed
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waxaan kusoo koray wadan aad u bur-buriyay
04:41
by decades of war.
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dagaalo socday qarniyo.
04:44
Fewer than six percent of women my age have made it beyond high school,
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In kayar 6% dumar da'deyda ah ayaa ilaa dugsi-ga sare dhaafay,
04:50
and had my family not been so committed to my education,
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hadey familkeeyga dhanka waxbarasha-dayda ay marnaba ku dadaali laheen,
04:52
I would be one of them.
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Mid kamid ah ayaan maanta ahaan lahaa.
04:55
Instead, I stand here a proud graduate of Middlebury College.
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Halkan ayan badalkii istagsanahay anoo kasoo qalin jibiyay Jaamacada Middlebury.
05:00
(Applause)
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(Sacbis)
05:10
When I returned to Afghanistan, my grandfather,
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Goortii aan ku laabtay Afgaanistan, awoowahey,
05:13
the one exiled from his home for daring to educate his daughters,
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Midkii gurigiisa looga soo eryay geesinimo uu gabdhihiisa aqoonyahaniin ugu dhigo darteed,
05:18
was among the first to congratulate me.
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ayaa wuxu ka mid ahaa dadki ugu horeen ii hambalyeeyay.
05:21
He not only brags about my college degree,
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Kuma faano kaliyo heerka jaamacadayda,
05:24
but also that I was the first woman,
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laakin inaan ahaay dumar tii ugu horeysay,
05:26
and that I am the first woman
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misna aan ahay dumar tii ugu horeso
05:28
to drive him through the streets of Kabul.
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ee gaari ku dhex wado wadooyinka Kabul.
05:31
(Applause)
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(Sacbis)
05:36
My family believes in me.
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Qoyskeeyga weey i aaminsan yihiin.
05:39
I dream big, but my family dreams even bigger for me.
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Heer sare ayaan ku riyoda, lakin famil-keyga heer ka sii sareeyo ayeey iigu sii riyodan
05:44
That's why I am a global ambassador for 10x10,
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Saas darteed ayaan waxan u ahay Safiir caalamiyeed ee 10x10,
05:49
a global campaign to educate women.
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Olole caalami ah oo dumarka waxbaro.
05:51
That's why I cofounded SOLA,
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Saas darteed ayaa waxaan u sameenay SOLA,
05:54
the first and perhaps only boarding school
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Iskuul xanaaneed kii ugu horeeyay
05:56
for girls in Afghanistan,
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oo gabdhaha ah ee ku yaalo Afgaanistan,
05:58
a country where it's still risky for girls to go to school.
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wadan ay weli tahay in gabdhaha ay iskuul aadaan.
06:04
The exciting thing is that I see students at my school
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Sheeyga farxada leh ayaa waxay tahay inaan arko arday dhigto iskuulkeyga
06:07
with ambition grabbing at opportunity.
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kuwaaso leh hami ay ku qabsadaan Jaanis.
06:13
And I see their parents and their fathers
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Waxaan kaloo arkaa waalidiintooda
06:16
who, like my own, advocate for them,
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kuwaaso ah kuwa sida waalidiinteyda u taageerayo,
06:21
despite and even in the face of daunting opposition.
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inkastoo ay jirto wejiyada cabsida badan ee kuwa kasoo horjeeda.
06:30
Like Ahmed. That's not his real name,
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Sida Ahmed. Ma ahin magaciisa rasmiga,
06:32
and I cannot show you his face,
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mana idin tusi karo wejigiisa,
06:35
but Ahmed is the father of one of my students.
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Laakin Ahmed waa aabaha ardayad dhigata iskul kayga.
06:38
Less than a month ago, he and his daughter
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Bil wax ka yar kahor ayaa asiga iyo gabadhiisa
06:42
were on their way from SOLA to their village,
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waxay u jeedeen xaafadooda ayagoo ka imaaday SOLA,
06:46
and they literally missed being killed
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waxayna ku sigteen ineey ku dhintaan
06:52
by a roadside bomb by minutes.
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bam loo dhigay geeska wadada daqiiqada gudahooda.
06:57
As he arrived home, the phone rang,
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Markuu guriga soo gaaray, ayaa waxaa usoo dhacay taleefanka,
07:00
a voice warning him
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cod u digayo
07:03
that if he sent his daughter back to school,
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haduu dib gabadhiisa ugu diro iskuulka,
07:06
they would try again.
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ineey isku dayayaan qaraxa mar kale
07:09
"Kill me now, if you wish," he said,
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"Hada idila hadaad rabtaan," ayuu dhahay,
07:13
"but I will not ruin my daughter's future
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"Laakin marnaba mustaqbalka gabadheyda kuma dheelayo
07:17
because of your old and backward ideas."
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waayo waxaad wadataan feker qaliban ."
07:22
What I've come to realize about Afghanistan,
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Arinta aan Afgaanistan ka ogaaday,
07:24
and this is something that is often dismissed in the West,
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misna ah mid ay wadamada Galbeed-ka ay ka tageen,
07:28
that behind most of us who succeed
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aya waxay tahay mid walbo anaga naga mid oo gulesytay inuu ka dambeyo
07:31
is a father who recognizes the value in his daughter
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aabe og qiimaha gabadhiisa
07:38
and who sees that her success is his success.
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misna arka inay guusheeda tahay guushiisa.
07:43
It's not to say that our mothers aren't key in our success.
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macnaha mahin inay hooyo-yinkeena aheen furaha guusheena.
07:47
In fact, they're often the initial and convincing negotiators
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Xaqiiqdi, waxay yihiin bilawga wada xaajood qancin kara
07:51
of a bright future for their daughters,
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mustaqbal ifo oo ay gabdhahooda helaan,
07:55
but in the context of a society like in Afghanistan,
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laakin xaalada shacab sida kuwa Afgaanistan,
07:58
we must have the support of men.
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waxa qasban inaan helno taagerida raga.
08:02
Under the Taliban, girls who went to school
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Sharciga Taliban, gabdhaha aaday Iskuulka
08:05
numbered in the hundreds --
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kuwaaso gaarayo boqoleeyo--
08:07
remember, it was illegal.
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xasuuso, waxay aheyd sharci la'aan.
08:09
But today, more than three million girls are in school in Afghanistan.
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Laakin maanta, gabdho ka badan 3 million ayaa dhigta iskuulada Afgaanistan.
08:15
(Applause)
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(Sacbis)
08:22
Afghanistan looks so different from here in America.
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Afghanistan waxay umuuqata mid ka duwan halkaan America.
08:28
I find that Americans see the fragility in changes.
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waxaan u arkaa in Amerikaanku arko burburka is badal.
08:33
I fear that these changes will not last
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Waxaan ka baqanaayo in is badalkani usii socon waayo
08:36
much beyond the U.S. troops' withdrawal.
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hore markii ciidamada U.S-ka laga soo bixiyo.
08:41
But when I am back in Afghanistan,
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Laakin markii aan kusoo laabto Afgaanistan,
08:44
when I see the students in my school
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oo aan arday ku arko iskuulkayga
08:49
and their parents who advocate for them,
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iyo waalidiintooda ku taaageerayo,
08:52
who encourage them, I see a promising future
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misna ku dhiira gelinayo, waxaan arkaa mustaqbal aad u ifo
08:56
and lasting change.
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iyo isbadal weligiisa socdo.
09:00
To me, Afghanistan is a country of hope and boundless possibilities,
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Ani ahaan, Afgaanistaan waa wadan rajo iyo suura-gal badan leh,
09:08
and every single day
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misna maalin walbo
09:11
the girls of SOLA remind me of that.
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gabdhaha SOLA ayaa midaas isoo xasuusiyo.
09:15
Like me, they are dreaming big.
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Heer sare ayee ku riyoodaan sidayda oo kale.
09:18
Thank you.
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Mahadsanidiin.
09:20
(Applause)
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(Sacbis)
Translated by Jamal Omar
Reviewed by Abdiwahab Osman

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shabana Basij-Rasikh - Educator
Shabana Basij-Rasikh helps girls and young women in Afghanistan get an education.

Why you should listen

Shabana Basij-Rasikh was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, she dressed as a boy to escort her older sister to a secret school -- with dire consequences if they were caught. She attended a high school in America under the YES exchange program, and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont. During college, she founded HELA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Afghan women through education. She also raised funds through foundations and public talks across the US to build a high school for girls in her ancestral village, and to build wells on the outskirts of Kabul to give communities access to clean drinking water.

An enthusiast of systemic change and community impact, Basij-Rasikh was selected as one of Glamour's Top 10 College Women of 2010, and was awarded the Vermont Campus Compact 2011 Kunin Public Award for outstanding public service, effective leadership and community-building. Now, Shabana has joined 10×10 as a Global Ambassador, supporting a global action campaign that links nonprofits, corporations, philanthropists, policy leaders, global influencers and grassroots activists in a movement to support girls’ education. She is managing director of SOLA (School of Leadership, Afghanistan), a nonprofit that helps exceptional young Afghan women access education worldwide and jobs back home.

More profile about the speaker
Shabana Basij-Rasikh | Speaker | TED.com