Author: Mahda Noor
Today is a strange day. On a pleasant spring morning, I wake up to the sweet melody of birds. The air is fresh, and a gentle rain is softly falling. I prepare breakfast for my daughter. She wakes up with her usual enthusiasm, comes toward me with excitement and her small, beautiful dreams, and greets me with a cheerful “good morning.” She sits at the table; before she even finishes her breakfast, she realizes that today is March 3 the first day of the new academic year. She knows that the school gates are open but not for everyone.
She understands that the path that was always bright for her steps has, without reason, fallen into a dark and ominous silence. She becomes upset, stands up, and goes to her room. A moment later, I walk quietly toward her. I see her sitting beside her bookshelf, immersed in a heavy, stone-like silence of sorrow with a lump in her throat, tears in her eyes, and a book silently turning in her hands.
I sit beside her and look into her eyes. My heart breaks in her gaze, drowning in those unspoken questions for which I have no answers. I take her small, cold hands in mine and hold them tightly, resting her head on my warm shoulders, and I say to her: My daughter, know that this is not your fault. You are just as worthy and deserving of reading, learning, knowing, and shining as any other child in this world. If today a door has been closed to you, our hope is still alive. We will light a lamp in the dark corner of this very home; in a silence that bears witness to us, we will read and we will learn.
We will not lose hope. We believe that one day, every single one of these closed doors will open to you and others like you. The future will be shaped by your capable hands.
That day will come the day when light triumphs over darkness.
And on that day, you and all the girls deprived of education will shine like the sun in the heart of the darkness of ignorance.
She stands up, takes her books from the shelf, and arranges them on the table, setting up a study schedule for herself. Among her storybooks, she picks up “Grandfather’s Stories” and becomes immersed in reading and joy.
