A tale of Afghan woman

Jamila Iqbal.
Thirty-year-old English-speaking woman with her head covered in a black
hijab.
Jamila, a mother of three and ten-year-old daughters and a 9-year-old son,
works voluntarily and diligently in UNICEF's Emergency Education Department in
Afghanistan. There is a history behind her penchant for
'children's education.

This daughter of Afghan
parents was not born in Afghanistan. She was born in Peshawar, Pakistan.  Jamila's parents, along with their relatives,
fled Kabul to Pakistan as refugees when Russia invaded Afghanistan in the
1970s. At least they knew then that hundreds of families like theirs were to
leave their motherland for the next 30 years.

Jamila was born,
raised, and studied in Pakistan. Although these Afghan families moved from one
Muslim country to another Muslim country, they remained uninvited guests in a
foreign country! The Muslims of Pakistan did not consider these refugees from
Afghanistan as their own.

During Jamila's
childhood, the school children behaved indifferently with her. Instructions like
"You shouldn't sing our national anthem as you don’t belong here" and
questions like "When will you people go back to your country?" were routine
parts of Jamila's upbringing.

Jamila's father made a
living by running a small business with other Afghan friends and relatives. As
Jamila grew older, her folks occasionally talked about their return to
Afghanistan. However, with the Russians, then the Mujahideen, then the Civil
War, and then the Taliban, the situation never returned to normal and the
refugee's life continued. Twenty-five years
passed. Born in an alien land, Jamila grew up in the same foreign country,
constantly discriminated against as a child and then as a teenager.

Then, in 2001, the
United States launched a major offensive in Afghanistan. In a year or two, the
Taliban regime also came to an end and the desire and hope of returning to one’s
own country awoke again.  Afghan refugees
from different countries slowly started to return to their homeland.  Jamila's parents and in-laws were also among
them.

The enthusiasm to
return to one's own country, state, the city was great, but the fear of
insecurity was also very high.  Fighting continued
internally in Afghanistan even after ten years since Jamila returned to her
homeland. News of suicide attacks, bombings, and shootings continued unabated
all these years. Returning home in the evening always remained an uncertain
probability once you leave home in the morning. It is unknown at this time what
he will do after leaving the house in the morning. Doubts, apprehensions, and suspicions
remained hand in hand with warmth and cooperation in neighborhoods and
workplaces.  While the whole concept of
security altered, living with own people in one's own country and working for fellow
citizens remained indescribable joy.

Jamila likes Mumbai.
When she met her Muslim friends in Mumbai, she felt that "the Muslims of
India are happy, and they love their country". She wants to come and stay
in Mumbai if she had to leave Afghanistan again.

For now, Jamila is
happy with her being part of the efforts to provide primary education to the
underprivileged children in remote villages of Afghanistan. Her mother-in-law
is a little less helpful but her husband's help is enough to run the show!