Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to educate Afghan girls

“Each day, we took a different route so that no one would suspect where we were going,” says Basij-Rasikh in this powerful talk. “The school was in a house, more than 100 of us packed into one living room … We all knew we were risking our lives — the students, the parents, the teachers.”

When the Taliban fell in 2001, Basij-Rasikh’s father was thrilled that his daughters would be able to return to a traditional school. Still, says Basij-Rasikh, her family’s commitment to education for its daughters was not the norm. In Afghanistan, only 6 percent of women 25 or older received any formal education.

“I was very lucky to grow up in a family where education was prized and daughters were treasured,” says Basij-Rasikh, a recent graduate of Middlebury College in the United States. “During the Taliban years, I remember there were times I would get so frustrated by our life and always being scared. I would want to quit. But my father would say, ‘Listen, my daughter. You can lose everything you own in your life. Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home in a war. The one thing that will always remain with you is what is up here. If we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees, we will.’”

After college, Basij-Rasikh returned home and co-founded SOLA, the School of Leadership Afghanistan, the first boarding school for girls in Afghanistan. And yet sadly, getting an education is still a risk in the country. To hear a shocking story of one of Basij-Rasikh’s students whose family was targeted by terrorists — simply for sending their daughter to SOLA — watch this talk.

Here, more talks from people who went to great lengths to get, or give, an education.

Kakenya Ntaiya: A girl who demanded schoolKakenya Ntaiya: The first school for Maasai girls For Maasai girls, childhood is focused on preparing them for marriage, which will happen for many as early as age 12 or 13. With great reverence for her culture, Kakenya Ntaiya shares how she agreed to participate in a genital mutilation ceremony … in exchange for permission to continue her education. In this talk from TEDxMidAtlantic, she reveals why it was so important to her to go to college, become a teacher and start the first all-girls school in her village — all with the support of her elders.

Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a timeShukla Bose on educating poor children Activist Shukla Bose admits that she and her compatriates with the Parikrma Humanity Foundation were mind-boggled when they first set out to educate the children of India’s slums — 200 million of whom should be in school but simply aren’t. In this talk from TEDIndia 2009, Bose explains how they put the statistics out of mind and went about their mission in the only way they could — by going one child at a time.

Sheryl WuDunn: Our century's greatest injustice Sheryl WuDunn: Our century’s greatest injustice At TEDGlobal 2010, journalist Sheryl WuDunn takes us to rural China — where a star pupil was pulled out of school because her family couldn’t justify paying the $13 annual fee when she’d be working a rice paddy for the rest of her life. WuDunn shows how the donations for the education of this one student changed not only her life but her family’s and her entire village’s. A stirring talk about how education for the world’s women can lead to all of our advancement.

Freeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in scienceFreeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in science When he was 12 years old, Freeman Hrabowski begged his parents to let him march with Martin Luther King to demand an equal education to the white students in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Today, he’s president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he works to create an environment that helps under-represented students — specifically African-American, Latino and low-income learners — get degrees in math and science. In this talk from TED2013, he shares his school’s approach.

Sugata Mitra shows how kids teach themselvesSugata Mitra shares how kids teach themselves Why should educational technology be focused in schools that already have good teachers and resources? In this talk from LIFT 2007, Sugata Mitra shares why it is important to focus technology in schools in rural areas, slums and shanty towns — because that’s where it can have the most impact. Here, Mitra narrates his Hole in the Wall experiment in New Delhi in 1999, where a computer was embedded into a wall, and local children flocked to it — learning and teaching each other.

Neil Turok makes his TED Prize wishNeil Turok makes his TED Prize wish Neil Turok grew up in South Africa, where his parents were imprisoned for resisting racism. He spent his formative years as a refugee in Kenya and Tanzania. As Turok accepted the TED Prize in 2008, he shared the story of how he became interested in theoretical physics. The keys: being inspired by the wisdom of village children around him, many of whom didn’t have a formal education, and by a school teacher who posed the question: “What banged during the Big Bang?”

Charles Leadbeater: Education innovation in the slumsCharles Leadbeater on education innovation in the slums In the favelas of Rio or the slums of Kibera, traditional schools simply will not work because they depend on professionals and high-cost infrastructure — not to mention that their curriculums do not connect to the lives of students. At the TEDSalon London 2010, Charles Leadbeater looks at different approaches — like putting computers in community centers and serving up lessons through mobile phones. It’s education plus technology that is the key, Leadbeater shows.

Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girlsLeymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee is haunted by the untapped potential of the girls she’s met on her travels across Liberia. In this talk, she tells some of these girls’ stories and calls on us all to foster the educational growth of girls — and to encourage the great inventions, innovations and breakthroughs they may be able to fuel if nurtured.

Yesterday, Afghanistan got its very first TED experience with TEDxKabul, which brought together 250 people for a day of ideas, innovations and hope in the war-torn city. Themed “The Art of the Unexpected,” the lineup of speakers was 75% Afghan, with about half the talks in English and half in Dari — and simultaneous translations for both via headsets.

Dominic Basulto of The Washington Post wrote of the event:

“When we think about innovation, we typically think of a one-way flow of ideas — from West to East, from North to South, and from developed world to developing world. However, as the increasing number of far-flung, volunteer-run TEDx events reminds us, ‘ideas worth spreading’ are also worth spreading from places that might be considered to be on the very fringe. At this week’s TEDxKabul — the first-ever TEDx event in Afghanistan — a mix of human rights activists, entrepreneurs, artists and technology visionaries described the types of innovation that a still-proud nation hopes to share with the world.”

Some of the highlights of the day included: a 14-year-old working hard to support her family while also learning to skateboard; a psychologist who was passionate about the need for education reform in Afghanistan; the film-maker who made the movie Buzkashi Boys; and Ashraf Ghani, the politician who was a key figure in rebuilding the country after the fall of the Taliban.

TED’s Chris Anderson was also a surprise speaker. Afterward he tweeted, “Thrilling day at #TEDxKabul. My 1st trip back to Afghanistan in 38 years. Huge challenges. But I was inspired by many people here.”

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Imagine being pulled over at a police checkpoint in Afghanistan. Now, imagine that  — rather than being in any kind of trouble — the officer stopping you handed you money and apologized on behalf of the Afghani National Police for any bribes you might have had to pay at similar traffic stops in the past.

This is exactly the scenario that artist and TED Fellow Aman Mojadidi created for his video installation “Payback.” In the bold and hilarious talk above, given at TEDGlobal 2012, Mojadidi explains his impetus for impersonating a police officer, as well as the reasoning behind his myriad photography and installation projects. The goal: to blend his American upbringing with his Afghani heritage. While Mojadidi grew up in Florida, he has been living and working in Afghanistan for the past nine years.

“I stand here today Afghan by blood, redneck by the grace of God. An atheist and a radically politicized artist,” he says. “I want to make art that disturbs identity and challenges authority and exposes hypocrisy and reinterprets reality.”

To hear more, watch Mojadidi’s provocative talk. To see some of his images, keep reading below.

“The Rebel Fell” from the series Afghan by Blood, Redneck by the Grace of God
Mojadidi calls this series “a bicultural adventure bringing the Confederate South to Kabul City.”

“Conflict Chic 1” from the series Conflict Chic
In this series, Mojadidi created “a fashion line for soldiers and suicide bombers. I take local Afghan fox fur and add it to a flak jacket.”

“5 Easy Steps to Paradise”
This installation piece is “an exploration into how Islamic radicalization is overly simplified and misunderstood both by those who promote and condemn it.” The neon signs read “watch … fly … train … attack … enjoy.”

“Dressing for Work” from the series A Day in the Life of a Jihadi Gangster
Says Mojadidi of this series, “I want to spend a day in the life of a Jihadi gangster, who wears his jihad against the communists like pop-star bling.”

“Kandahar” from his Nomadic Furniture Line for Belligerents
This desert chair, crafted from two guns, comes with step-by-step instructions on Mojadidi’s website.

Although preliminary results for Afghanistan’s presidential election will not be publicized until Saturday (and full results may not come until September 3), both President Hamid Karzai and second favorite Abdullah Abdullah are claiming victory. If neither candidate receives 50% of the vote, a run-off vote will occur. Voter participation was estimated at 40-50%, far lower than the 70% turnout for the first presidential election of 2004. Allegations of fraud are widespread and Ashraf Ghani’s campaign team is expressing its concern over reports of ballot box stuffing in the south where only a paucity of election observers could monitor the polls.

Watch this talk on TED.com where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.