Freed of Taliban terror, displaced girl resumes study in a tent school

Mardan (NWFP, Pakistan), May 25 (ANI): Sixtenn-year-old Aleema has restarted her education after it was stopped due to life threats from Taliban bombing of a girls' schools in Swat valley.

"I was a student of Class 9 at Girls' Higher Secondary School at Kabal. Taliban first issued threatening letters to our school and then blown it up on September 2008," Aleema told Daily Times.

Aleema said that she has now come to a tent school set up by Society for Awareness and Relief (STAR), a Swabi-based non-government organisation providing high school level education in relief camps.

"I and thousands of other girls of the valley could not think of completing education under the Taliban rule in the area," a fully veiled Aleema said.

The brave girl expressed satisfaction with the way of teaching in the tent school but said it was the government responsibility to provide better education to Internally Displaced Persons girls and boys, as hundreds of them wanted to continue their education.

She said more female students would come to tent schools if government and non-government organisations created awareness of education in relief camps.

Three non-government organisations including Muslim Hands, Philanthropist and STAR are providing education to IDPs in Sheikh Yaseen camp. (ANI)