In an act of bravery, a young Pakistani student is organising an educational retreat for girls from the Swat valley, to prevent the death of female education.
A young Pakistani student is organising an educational retreat for girls from the restive northwestern Swat valley, now mostly controlled by the local Taliban, to "help prevent the death of female education" in the region.
Twenty schoolgirls, including the heroic Malala Joya who was featured in the
New York Times' documentary
Class Dismissed in Swat Valley and the brave young writer of BBC's
Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl, are expected to attend the four-week retreat in Islamabad in July.
"Since 2006, over 200 girls' schools have been burnt in Swat valley. Of the remaining schools, only some have been allowed to remain open. As girls are increasingly petrified of leaving their houses, attendance at all girls' schools has dropped drastically," Shiza Shahid, the student organising the retreat, said in a message at the swatvalleygirls.com website.
The Taliban have bombed or torched scores of girls' schools in Swat, saying education for women is "un-Islamic". They have also barred women from venturing out of their homes unless they are accompanied by male relatives.
Shahid, a student at Stanford University, said she is organising the retreat to help girls rejuvenate from the violence they have witnessed. The retreat will also help them understand their rights as citizens of Pakistan, bring to the world their stories and prepare them as "ambassadors for larger outreach programmes in the future", she added.
"If you will be in Islamabad in July 2009, come meet these girls and hear about their experiences. If you have a skill that you think you would like to offer these girls, tell us about it," Shahid said.
"Please, step forward, help bring the change. Help me run a one-month retreat for girls from Swat in Islamabad this July, to work towards reclaiming the rights of girls in Swat valley."
Shahid, who is also running her campaign on Facebook, called on people to meet "these girls and hear their stories".
"Schedule an ice cream trip for them, take them out, show them Islamabad, and find out for yourself what is really going on in Swat," she wrote on her website. Shahid is also scouting for volunteers to teach some skills to the girls.
"I need donations for food, transportation, entertainment and for purchasing cameras to give to these girls so that they can document the situation around them in Swat. I will personally email you with updates of what your money was used to do, even if you donate a few coins. I need all of you to do this together. Please, help reclaim the rights of girls in Swat," she wrote.
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