Student Spotlight: Eight-year-old Maheen

“I thought my dream of going to school would always remain just a dream. But Iqra Fund made it come true.”

Eight-year-old Maheen belongs to a family of seven in Hushe valley, Gilgit-Baltistan. Every day she would see her two brothers go to school, and wished that she could go with them; she wanted so badly to learn how to read and write. Unfortunately, the one and only school in the village was for boys only, and her parents could not afford to send her a school in the city or in another village.

When Iqra Fund began working in Hushe, meetings were held with the newly formed Village Education Committee to create awareness for the importance of girls’ education and motivate the community to ensure access to education for their girls. Iqra Fund hired qualified teachers, provided free school supplies to the students and partnered with the community to open up the local school to girls as well as boys.

Maheen was thrilled; she finally had the chance to go to school with her brothers. Every day, she wakes up excited to go to school, and recently she outshined her classmates in her Grade 1 final exam. Her teachers are very happy with her performance, and she even helps her fellow students with their schoolwork. At home, she teaches her mother what she has learned so that her mother, who is illiterate, can also learn through her.

Maheen’s dream is to become a science teacher and establish a school for children in her village. She is one of Iqra Fund’s youngest and strongest supporters, and is determined to continue our mission of providing girls with access to quality education so that they can live their dreams.