Interview with an Illiterate Village Girl in NW Pakistan

Here’s an interview with Mashal, an illiterate girl from a village in northern Pakistan where 71% live in villages. Half the school-age children don’t have access to government schools and 41% of young women ages 15 to 24 are illiterate, one of the lowest country literacy rates in the world. Only one-third of Pakistani young people are in primary school, so extremist Muslim Madrassas provide an affordable alternative for some boys but not girls of course. Pakistan in second- to-last place in worldwide rankings of gender equality, according the to Global Gender Gap Report 2012. Hassan points out that some “ghost schools” exist in the records but don’t have teachers who come to class. A popular singer, Shehzad Roy (born 1977), rides on a motorcycle around Pakistan filming schools to show his TV viewers the deplorable condition of schools. His show is called Chal Parha, meaning “Come, Teach.”

Hassan interviewed Mashal with the SpeakOut questions and translated her answers from Pashto. He introduced Mashal, age 18, as “a person who comes to my friend's house in Peshawar on a weekly basis, and cleans up the house with her little sister. Her parents let her go because that way she earns a few rupees and that's how they live. Her father works at a construction field, runs cement and stones.”

Tell me a little about your background.

I am 18 and have eight siblings including seven sisters and one brother. Two of my sisters are married. We are very poor. My parents had no education. They didn't go to school or anything, which they regret. My father earns rupees 50 a day, (60 cents) and that is when he works from day to night. In my whole day, I am so busy in the household chores and activities that I don't even get a single moment for me to spend free. If, by chance, I get any, I sit with my sisters and talk. Lie down in bed and do nothing.

How is your generation different from your parents’?

Actually our thoughts don't match. They always stop me and tell me to do a specific thing in a specific way, but I get annoyed and I try to make them understand that I know my work better and I can do it. My uncles (mother's brothers) are very strict and they try to rule us. They don't let us go out and try to make sure we stay at home. It's a small village so for girls to go out very often is not appropriate. Small issues can lead to disasters [regarding public opinion about a girl’s reputation].

What are the major problems facing humans today? [This illustrates the frustration of rising expectations.]

For me, the biggest problem that humans are facing today is poverty. Poor people have no money, no food, no happiness. They can do crimes for money, like my very own cousin who was involved in a house robbery that lead him to jail because he would look at his master's kids who had everything! Cars, cell phones, money, new clothes, everything! This made my cousin do robbery despite the fact that he knew it's wrong but he couldn't control his personal desires and went on doing it. He's in jail today and it's been three years now. He's young and strong and was the sole earner of the family. His family is having a very hard time living these days. It shouldn't be this way. I think government should do enough things for the poor on yearly basis so that we don't do such crimes.

What would you do to solve this problem if you had power?

If I had power, in the other words, if I had money, I will buy food, clothes, shoes and everything for my fellow poor. I will make sure the kids go to school and get good education. I wish Allah gives me enough money so that I help the poor in the whole world. I have seen very difficult times.

What do you like to do for fun?

We don't do anything for fun. We don't have extra time for extra activities. I just sit back at times in my home and talk to my sisters about life. That's all my life is.

When have you felt most loved by someone else?

Never. As I said, my parents have not studied much so they don't show their emotions. In fact, they don't understand. I have never felt loved by anyone. Everyone orders me to do work for them.

Why do you think you’re here on earth; what’s your purpose?

I don't really understand the reason. I have not studied Quran, the religion, or the school so I don't know why I am here. I don't like this pattern of life. I wish my life was better.

How would your life be different if you were born a boy and would you like your future to be the same or different from your mother's?

If I was a boy, that could have settled everything for me. I would have done everything. I would go out with friends, stay outside, spend time with my buddies, play cricket, have fun, make long distance travels, make phone calls with friends. It would have been awesome. I wouldn't just stay home, do the household chores everyday, listen to my parents complain about food, work, money, etc. I would get the most attention in the house and people would love me. Being a boy is very cool.

I want my future to be exactly like my mother's. I love her and respect her so much. She gave me good manners. Today, no one can say that I am a bad girl because of my mother. She brought me up well and that's why I adore her. So I'd grow up to be like her and take care of our family and live happily.

What kind of media do you use?

We don't have a TV or computer in the house. We just have one cell phone in the whole house. I don't even know how to use it. I just know how to pick up a call by pressing the green button and turn the cell off my pressing the red button. I cannot even send a message. We are not too much into media. We can't afford too much electricity and that's why we can't use it.

How do you think life would be different if you grew up in a city like Peshawar?

I'd have all the facilities in the world. Life would have been much better. I could easily go out, go to school, have friends and enjoy being with them. I wouldn’t worry about doing too much work and listen to my parents complain about food and work. It really annoys me.

What would you like in a marriage partner? Will your parents arrange your marriage?

I would like my husband to keep me happy, don't scold me, agree with what I say, respect my thoughts, and my mother-in-law to love me and take care of me. I just want both families to get along well and spend a happy life. I want to take some rest and don't want more miseries in the world. I want him to be understanding and understand me, my emotions. That's all!

Yes, my marriage is arranged. My engagement was done last year after Ramadan and Eid. I will get married in the next six months. I don't even know how old he is. I just saw him once and that was when his family came to ask for me. I talked to him thrice on the phone but never in person. That's all the interaction I had with him. But my parents did ask me before saying yes and I had no other option than saying yes, so I am happy the way life is. Yousaf's family wants gold and expensive clothes in the marriage. My parents make 50 rupees a day. How can we even think of gold? Let's hope he understands the situation and make his parents understand and compromise. [Her additional answers are in the endnote.[i]]

Here's More...

1. If you could ask a question of the wisest person in the world, what would you ask her or him about life?

(after taking a long time) How do you live your life in home and what do you do?

2. What bothers you in your daily life? What practice best helps you stay calm?

I get bothered with the extra work that I do in my daily life and don't even get appreciated for it. I do the household chores from day to night and when my little siblings spread the mess again, I get annoyed and I have to do the work all over again. It bothers me. I just console myself with the fact that I am doing it for my own family. I am stressed so much at times that I sit back and cry but I don't tell anyone and keep on doing the work for them (at this moment, she has tears in her eyes).

3. If there were one thing you could change about adults, what would it be?

I will like the adults not to say inappropriate stuff and appreciate the work I do. Understand me.

4. What would you like to change about yourself?

I wish I could have studied so that's the only thing I would change about myself.

8. On a scale of 1 to 100, how highly would you grade your school? Why?

There is no school in my whole village for girls. There is only one government school, which is for boys. There is none for girls.

9. What work would you like to do when you're an adult?

I would like to be a MISS (teacher) or a nurse.

10. If you were the leader of your country, what changes would you make?

Good question. I would like to finish the poverty. Provide homes for them, have the kids go to school, finish inflation, provide jobs and facilities to poors.

11. Imagine you get to write on a T-shirt going on a trip around the world. What do you want your T-mail to say to people?

[After taking a long time] I am with all the poor people in the world and would help them if I had power.

12. What is your daily routine?

I wake up at 7 am daily. Pick up the dirty utensils, wash them, clean rooms, and the outside, make beds, wash bathrooms, make the home look clean, and make breakfast for all the family members. After this, prepare to cook for lunch, make bread. After they eat, wash dishes. Then I take some rest and after that, I prepare to cook for the evening. That's all I do daily.

13. Is your home all well furnished?

No, we have a mud house and that is badly affected lately due to floods. Our walls fell down so it was very hard for us to cover our house. Me and my sisters dared and set up the walls ourselves. It was very tiring. Still we have two walls to make. May Allah help us!

14. What would you like for your younger siblings to have that you didn't get?

I would want my little 6-year-old sister to have all the necessities in the world. I would like her to have good education, good manners and grow up so well so that she get married in a good place.

15. Are you happy with your life?

Yes, I am happy with the fact that I have my family members around me and at least have a roof to be under it.

Very moved by reading this interview, I asked if Mashal would like to learn to read. She said yes so we decided to start a literacy program with Hassan as teacher. But before the first class met, her mother said Marshal couldn’t attend. She did allow her younger children to come to Hassan’s literacy classes in his home. Hassan explained, “I talked to Marshal’s mother. She said Mashal won't be able to join the classes because her fiancé doesn't like her to go out very much. But her sisters would join.” I asked how Marshal felt about this: “She said her mother is right and she can't come to class, though she so much wants to come, but her marriage is more important than learning to read and write.”

Because of Mashal, we set up the Open Door Literacy Project with Hassan teaching and me fundraising to pay his salary (it helps pay his college tuition), for Urdu adult literacy workbooks, and rickshaws to bring students from their villages or him to theirs. Photos of the students and Hassan are available on the ODLP website.[ii] A teenager in West Bengal, India, also teaches girls and boys who can’t afford to go to school, teaching hundreds in his back yard with nine other teachers when he gets back from attending school.[iii]

Teacher Hassan (age 18) described the first 100-day two-hour class with both girls and boys attending:

First class went awesome. They learned about 15 pages, writing skill. Mashal’s sister brought her cousin (male) with them as well. So altogether it's 7 people now. I will do different practices with them so that their writing skills develop. You can't even imagine how good it feels once they learn something. Today, I showed them how to write the date as well. It was great!

In his ninth literacy class of mainly girls, he described his frustration over early marriage interference with girls’ education:

Hira, 14, has a little background of literacy since she went to school in her early age but she was soon taken out of school after she was promised to the boy of local merchant, who is pretty well off. Though Hira's parents had the vision of educating her, they were pretty speechless in front of the family of the boy, as they've already given their word to them. Their engagement has happened and there's no way back now, although Hira's family mourn their decision of engaging their daughter. As for Hira, she is a very bright individual. She has dreams to climb high and achieve but for being a girl in a village like Turnham, this doesn't become a possibility.

[i] 1. If you could ask a question of the wisest person in the world, what would you ask her or him about life?