In Afghanistan today, there is no social issue more controversial than women's rights. And nothing cuts to the heart of the matter more than the education of young girls, because nothing so radically threatens to change a deeply patriarchal society than rising generations of educated women.
In 2009, when Razia Jan, a visionary and fearless educator, arrived in the war-blasted village of Deh'Subz to open the Zabuli Education Center, she placed herself at the center of her country's turmoil. As recounted in the new documentary What Tomorrow Brings, she faced families and village elders hostile to female education, threats (and nearby examples) of Taliban violence and the haunting question of what would happen when U.S. forces withdrew. To sustain herself, Razia had her own resourcefulness, the passion of her
TEACHERS and, perhaps most surprisingly in a conservative rural setting, the free-spirited determination of the girls themselves to get an education.
Beth Murphy's What Tomorrow Brings has its national broadcast premiere on the
PBS documentary series POV (Point of View) on Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 at 10 p.m. (Check local listings.) Watch the trailer below:
The film is a powerful example of what happens when learning extends far beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. Here, girls have the space to dream of-and pursue-a life different from the one they were born into. They persist even when faced with beatings, forced engagements, and threats by a resurgent Taliban.
Pashtana, an effervescent seventh-grader (arguably the class clown), is forced into an engagement with her cousin and told that school is no place for girls. Her mother's reaction is heart-wrenching: "I don't want you to grow up blind like me, blind to everything going on in the world. As long as I'm alive I won't let anyone stop you."
Rihala, the mayor's daughter and the oldest student, can remember life under the Taliban. Among the teachers, the youthful Nazima is more than an instructor; she is a confidante, friend and role model for the girls. Razia, the school founder, knows that age-old customs need to be both understood and challenged. Most critical are her efforts to change men's attitudes toward women.
When What Tomorrow Brings opens, the Zabuli School is clearly, if always precariously, a success. When Razia meets with village elders, including the mayor, it's clear they're not used to a woman being in charge. But it's also clear the men are thinking not only about the value of education, but also about the value of their daughter's lives. With the security situation declining in Afghanistan, Razia implores the men to protect the school and keep it safe.
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