THE ACTIVISM BUG
Scarborough sisters, 14, win Governor General’s award for their work with students in Pakistan,
Twin activists Maryam and Nivaal Rehman,14, from Scarborough turned family trips to Pakistan into a chance to visit schools in a poor village and inspire children to pursue education and careers. On Wednesday evening, they received the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. The Star caught up with the pair.
Before you started visiting Pakistan you were involved in food and toy drives and funding for international flood relief supplies. How did you catch the activism bug?
M: This all started when at a very young age, in Grade 3, we got involved with Free the Children and we collected change (for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Pakistan and the Imran Khan Foundation). That same year, during vacation, we visited the girls’ government school in Pakistan for the first time. We went again in 2012 and then in 2015.
What happened when you got to Pakistan on your first trip in 2010?
M: There are people in Pakistan who live in tents and in rags. We just went outside and we met them. We went to places no one was willing to go to and speak to people no one was willing to talk to.
N: We looked through their workbooks and found that they learn English and Urdu, but they never learn math. Those kids, when I told them about numbers, they said, “Oh cool. We want to learn that.” We taught them about numbers.
M: We taught them the basics of geography — where they are in the world and where they can go. It opens up opportunities because I doubt they know there is a whole world out there that they can explore and expand their horizons. We tell them there are more opportunities out there than working in people’s houses or doing servant jobs.
What was the reaction like from students?
N: When we went for the first time in 2010 there was one of the girls, Sania. She said I am going to quit school, but when we went back three years later we talked to her again and we told her that she should continue. She actually went to high school. It’s a really big deal for us because we impacted her.
Tell me about the call notifying you your teachers had nominated you for the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. M: We just came home from school. We were so happy because it was such a surprise. It was never our intention to come that far and the results were wonderful. We not only helped those children, but we got recognized. M: My mom was on the phone and Nivaal and I were hugging each other and screaming. My mom was in shock. Her eyes were wide open. She was a bit calmer than us, but we were going crazy.
What’s next for you both? Are you returning to Pakistan soon?
M: Last time (we were in Pakistan) I was making a documentary, but just as I was putting it together, the footage got deleted, but my parents said, “It’s OK, we will take you again and we will make sure it gets saved this time properly.”
N: I am writing a book based on Pakistan and philosophy. I have been writing it for a year now. It’s about a girl who tells a story based on her life, but it is an allegorical version of her life that is all about stereotypes and I put into it a lot of my experiences in Pakistan and my feelings about that country. I am finishing up editing it, but I hope to find a publisher by this year.
M: We want to see all the world’s children who are deprived of education achieve an education. It should be a basic human right. It should be a requirement that everyone gets an education. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.