Moving picture
Photo of a poor Afghan farmer cradling her baby while sitting for a university entrance exam goes viral, resulting in a flood of admiration and offers of financial help.
KABUL: Afghan farmer Jahantab Ahmadi sits on the ground, her baby resting in her lap, as she focuses on the university entrance exam she hopes will help her fulfil her dreams.
The powerful photo, taken by a professor at Nasir Khusraw private university in central Afghanistan, has gone viral after striking a chord in a country where most women are illiterate and treated as second-class citizens.
The picture has sparked an outpouring of admiration and offers of financial help for the 25-year-old mother of three.
“I don’t want to be deprived of my studies,” Ahmadi, who comes from a remote farming village in Daikundi province where wheat, corn and potatoes provide a meagre income, said in Kabul.
“I want to work outside the house. I want to become a doctor, someone who serves women in my community or society.”
Ahmadi passed the exam after undertaking an arduous journey to reach the provincial capital Nili – two hours on foot through mountains and nine hours in public transport on a bumpy road.
An online GoFundMe campaign launched by the Afghan Youth Association to help pay for her university fees has so far raised more than US$14,000 (RM54,785) – a fortune in a country where about 39% of the population lives in poverty.
Ahmadi appears a little bemused by the attention triggered by the photo of her cradling baby Khizran during the exam last month, which she only found out about later. “My friends in the village told me ‘you have been photographed’. I said ‘how did I not know that I was being photographed and they said ‘you were concentrating on the paper’,” she said, smiling shyly.
At the beginning of the test, which was held outdoors, Ahmadi sat at a desk with Khizran in her lap. But the infant had an ear ache and would not stop crying. To keep her quiet and not disturb others, Ahmadi sat on the ground in the shade of another person – and kept writing.
Ahmadi’s story has resonated with social media users across the country, who have praised her determination to be educated.
“You are a true world champion, you have shown that a Hazara girl can do anything in any conditions or circumstances,” Nazar Hussein Akbari wrote on Facebook, referring to her ethnicity.
Another user posted: “I hope this hard-working woman reaches her goals.”
Afghan women’s rights activist Zahra Yagana was also impressed. She contacted Ahmadi and convinced her to come to Kabul to study.
“If she had to study in Daikundi it would be difficult for her,” Yagana said.
“The standard of education is low. There is no student hostel in Daikundi and she would have to live in a rented house.
“We will give her a house (in Kabul). There are many friends who have promised to help her. We are trying to find a job for her husband and also raise money for her children to go to school.”