Never Let Others Put You Down
By Mishaal Shahzad via UN Online Volunteering
I pray we all keep
succeeding and one day proudly represent our mother, who was always shamed by
those relatives. And the one thing we learned, from those who don’t wish to see
our success, is that we must continue to reach for the stars.
I
was born in a traditional family, where my mother stayed orientated among her
in- laws for quite sometime after me and my twin sister were born. She was
harassed by her mother-in-law for not having much education. In Pakistan, a
girl gets married after her A-levels, as though that is the maximum level of
education she can obtain. My mother was among those women. She wanted to pursue
her career but the societial norms and the culture prevented her from
proceeding after her A-levels.
My mother
did everything possible to please her in-laws. She did many chores, cooked, house cleaned, and more. But my grandmother always talked down to her,
especially in front of relatives.They would either disown my mother in front of
relatives or would take her daughters out and leave her behind. They would also cut the
wires of the telephone, so she couldn’t call her mother. On other occasions, if
anyone praised my mother, her in-laws would not acknowledge it, AND would make
up a story against her. My father had a business crisis and my grandmother
blamed my mother for that too. But my mother remained peaceful, felt ashamed,
and prayed to God.
We
moved to another city, but the tauntings never stopped. They would often call
to humiliate and underestimate us. My grandmother challenged my mother, saying
that my mother’s children can’t succeed academically, and that only her
daughter’s kids (we are my grandmother’s son’s children) will bring the family
honor. We accepted the challenge and began to work harder; we knew that my
mother faced a lot, and it was time to raise her head up.
Today
we have completed our O/A levels with good grades. My mother sold her gold
ornaments so that we could complete our studies and attend summer school abroad.
I have started University and have been scoring well. I am currently blogging
for UN projects. I did an internship for USAID project(s). I intern at different
magazines and student councils. And, I have taken numerous courses online, for
different universities.
My
sister is a scholarship holder, a blogger for UN, and an Internee at Women’s Aid.
We both have earned laptops from the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme for the highest
achievers at our University. And, my brother is doing LLB and working with NGO.
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