[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.96,0:00:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was 11,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.40,0:00:06.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember waking up one morning to the sound of joy in my house.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.97,0:00:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My father was listening to BBC News
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.44,0:00:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on his small, gray radio.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.61,0:00:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a big smile on his face which was unusual then,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.49,0:00:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the news mostly depressed him.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.46,0:00:25.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Taliban are gone!" my father shouted.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.34,0:00:27.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't know what it meant,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.93,0:00:33.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I could see that my father was very, very happy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.12,0:00:41.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You can go to a real school now," he said.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.63,0:00:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A morning that I will never forget.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.80,0:00:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A real school.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.96,0:00:55.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see, I was six when the Taliban took over Afghanistan
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.07,0:00:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and made it illegal for girls to go to school.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.60,0:01:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for the next five years, I dressed as a boy
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.70,0:01:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to escort my older sister, who was no longer allowed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.22,0:01:09.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be outside alone, to a secret school.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.63,0:01:14.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the only way we both could be educated.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.25,0:01:17.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each day, we took a different route
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.49,0:01:21.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that no one would suspect where we were going.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.51,0:01:23.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We would cover our books in grocery bags
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.70,0:01:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so it would seem we were just out shopping.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.84,0:01:32.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The school was in a house,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.22,0:01:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than 100 of us packed in one small living room.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.88,0:01:43.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was cozy in winter but extremely hot in summer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.73,0:01:46.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We all knew we were risking our lives --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.25,0:01:50.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the teacher, the students and our parents.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.60,0:01:52.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From time to time, the school would suddenly be canceled
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.98,0:01:56.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a week because Taliban were suspicious.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.89,0:01:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We always wondered what they knew about us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.67,0:02:02.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Were we being followed?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.71,0:02:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do they know where we live?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.24,0:02:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We were scared,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.90,0:02:15.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but still, school was where we wanted to be.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.82,0:02:19.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was very lucky to grow up in a family
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.56,0:02:25.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where education was prized and daughters were treasured.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.81,0:02:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.96,0:02:34.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A total maverick from a remote province of Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.44,0:02:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he insisted that his daughter, my mom,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.94,0:02:44.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.35,0:02:47.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my educated mother became a teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.86,0:02:50.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There she is.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.88,0:02:53.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She retired two years ago, only to turn our house
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.55,0:02:58.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a school for girls and women in our neighborhood.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.93,0:03:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my father -- that's him --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.32,0:03:10.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was the first ever in his family to receive an education.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.22,0:03:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was no question that his children
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.33,0:03:17.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would receive an education, including his daughters,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.42,0:03:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite the Taliban, despite the risks.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.84,0:03:30.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.18,0:03:33.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,During Taliban years, I remember
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.31,0:03:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were times I would get so frustrated by our life
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.40,0:03:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and always being scared and not seeing a future.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.36,0:03:45.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would want to quit,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.41,0:03:48.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but my father,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.54,0:03:51.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he would say,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.05,0:03:53.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Listen, my daughter,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.16,0:03:56.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can lose everything you own in your life.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.48,0:04:00.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.68,0:04:03.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the one thing that will always remain with you
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.46,0:04:06.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is what is here,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.77,0:04:11.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.68,0:04:14.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we will.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.91,0:04:19.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So do you still not want to continue?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.99,0:04:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today I am 22.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.12,0:04:25.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was raised in a country that has been destroyed
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.89,0:04:29.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by decades of war.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.06,0:04:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fewer than six percent of women my age have made it beyond high school,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.20,0:04:36.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had my family not been so committed to my education,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.66,0:04:39.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would be one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.27,0:04:44.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead, I stand here a proud graduate of Middlebury College.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.58,0:04:54.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.59,0:04:57.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I returned to Afghanistan, my grandfather,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.54,0:05:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the one exiled from his home for daring to educate his daughters,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.12,0:05:05.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was among the first to congratulate me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.62,0:05:08.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He not only brags about my college degree,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.24,0:05:10.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also that I was the first woman,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.45,0:05:12.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that I am the first woman
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.18,0:05:15.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to drive him through the streets of Kabul.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.68,0:05:21.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.04,0:05:23.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My family believes in me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.69,0:05:28.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I dream big, but my family dreams even bigger for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.64,0:05:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why I am a global ambassador for 10x10,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.11,0:05:35.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a global campaign to educate women.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.87,0:05:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why I cofounded SOLA,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.45,0:05:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first and perhaps only boarding school
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.92,0:05:42.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for girls in Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.64,0:05:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a country where it's still risky for girls to go to school.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.28,0:05:52.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The exciting thing is that I see students at my school
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.05,0:05:57.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with ambition grabbing at opportunity.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.68,0:06:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I see their parents and their fathers
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.60,0:06:05.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who, like my own, advocate for them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.18,0:06:14.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite and even in the face of daunting opposition.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.11,0:06:16.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like Ahmed. That's not his real name,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.82,0:06:19.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I cannot show you his face,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.45,0:06:23.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but Ahmed is the father of one of my students.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.09,0:06:26.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Less than a month ago, he and his daughter
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.93,0:06:30.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were on their way from SOLA to their village,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.26,0:06:36.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they literally missed being killed
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.75,0:06:41.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a roadside bomb by minutes.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.54,0:06:44.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As he arrived home, the phone rang,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.94,0:06:47.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a voice warning him
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.63,0:06:51.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if he sent his daughter back to school,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.03,0:06:53.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would try again.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.81,0:06:57.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Kill me now, if you wish," he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.71,0:07:01.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"but I will not ruin my daughter's future
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.60,0:07:06.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of your old and backward ideas."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.43,0:07:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I've come to realize about Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.80,0:07:12.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is something that is often dismissed in the West,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.32,0:07:15.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that behind most of us who succeed
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.55,0:07:22.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a father who recognizes the value in his daughter
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.91,0:07:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and who sees that her success is his success.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.54,0:07:31.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not to say that our mothers aren't key in our success.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.47,0:07:36.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, they're often the initial and convincing negotiators
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.01,0:07:39.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a bright future for their daughters,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.35,0:07:42.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in the context of a society like in Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.76,0:07:46.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we must have the support of men.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.18,0:07:49.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Under the Taliban, girls who went to school
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.73,0:07:51.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,numbered in the hundreds --
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.52,0:07:53.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remember, it was illegal.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.86,0:07:59.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But today, more than three million girls are in school in Afghanistan.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.35,0:08:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.60,0:08:12.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Afghanistan looks so different from here in America.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.75,0:08:17.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I find that Americans see the fragility in changes.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.72,0:08:20.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I fear that these changes will not last
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.77,0:08:25.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much beyond the U.S. troops' withdrawal.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.26,0:08:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I am back in Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.92,0:08:33.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I see the students in my school
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.70,0:08:36.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their parents who advocate for them,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.34,0:08:40.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who encourage them, I see a promising future
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.81,0:08:44.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and lasting change.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.11,0:08:52.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To me, Afghanistan is a country of hope and boundless possibilities,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.58,0:08:55.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and every single day
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.99,0:08:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the girls of SOLA remind me of that.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.40,0:09:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like me, they are dreaming big.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.60,0:09:04.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.32,0:09:15.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)