Gul Seema finally goes to school

Gul Seema, an 8-year-old girl from a village in District Pishin, is a vibrant child with high ambitions. She wants to grow up to be a doctor. And for this, she realizes she has to go to school. But, unfortunately, because of her disability in walking, she was not granted admission to the local school. This broke her heart.

Gul Seema’s father Zia ul Haq is a daily wager, and cannot afford to send Gul to a private school away from their village. Zia has to look after Seema and her two brothers and three sisters.

The team from Tameer e Khalaq Foundation working under its ERMP project, visited Gul Seema’s village to identify out-of-school children and found about her story. They visited her home and met her mother who shared that the teachers of the Government Girls' Primary School didn’t enroll Gul due to her disability. Teachers were of the view that Gul cannot read and learn. Gul Seema goes to school every day only to sit in front of the classroom to watch students studying, Gul’s mother told. “She used to come back with tears in her eyes asking what is my fault? Why they don’t give me admission to the school? Why don’t they let me read? It hurts me a lot”, her mother shared.

After meeting with Gul Seema’s mother, the team members went to the school to discuss Gul’s situation and to persuade them to enroll her. They argued that Gul does have the capacity to read and write, and more importantly, is eager to learn. After a long discussion, the school administration and the teachers agreed to enroll Gul soon.

Gul Seema is now a regular student in the school in her village. She wakes up excited every day to go to school. As she tells now, English is Gul’s favorite subject. Gul says that she would never let her disability hinder her education and success in life.

Photos and story gathered by: Naghma Kakar Story edited by: Sibtain Haider