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12-year-old Azeera Gul wants to be a teacher when she grows up so she can educate girls in her village and 14-year-old Ludia Bibi wants to be a doctor. “That is the only way I can help people here and make sure women in particular get the care they need” she said. 

These are the brave and determined voices of young Pakistani girls living in remote villages that have been overrun by the Taliban who ban girls from receiving an education. . 

Maria Toor Pakai, 19, grew up in South Waziristan, where women rarely venture out of their homes. She defied tradition by playing squash and now she is a top-ranking national player.

“I knew my daughter was different and I wished to encourage her,” said Maria’s father, Shamsul Qayyum Wazir, who took her to Peshawar in 2002, eager to grant her the opportunity she would have been denied at home.

“We had received threats from the Taliban warning us to stop her from playing,” he said.

Today, Pakai lives and trains in Toronto, her story an inspiration for others. “I always think of the hard rocks of my land, and how tough they made me,” she said.

But while these young women have fought back, others find it harder to do so. “I want my daughters to have a better life than I do, but it is hard,” said Ujala Gul, 40, a mother of three girls who lives in a village near Saidu Sharif. “I am afraid they will end up as powerless housewives just like me, subservient to their husbands.”

Mature far beyond their years, these young girls are campaigning for a better future for themselves and all girls in Pakistan. Their efforts should be applauded and fully supported by the international community.