Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/sakena_yacoobi_how_i_stopped_the_taliban_from_shutting_down_my_school#t-172634
Presenter: Sakena Yacoobi
Presenter Bio: Sakena Yacoobi was born in Herati, Afghanistan. She immigrated
to the United States in the 1970s. The reason she came to America is so she could study
deeper into the medical field. Afghanistan was very sexist and male-oriented at the time,
which prevented her from remaining there. But fortunately, Sakena's father did not believe
in those stereotypes. Right now she runs a very successful afghan women learning
institute named Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). She is very well known for work defending
her belief that everyone should be educated, no matter what gender. This has earned her
international recognition, which led to a 2005 Nobel peace prize nomination.
Summary of Ted Talk
Sakena opens up with a summary of her past. She was a very smart student who sought to
pursue jobs in the medical field. She even got accepted into medical school in Afghanistan.
But unfortunately they didn't have female dormitories. Her non-sexist father then opted to
send her to America to fulfill her dream.
While she was in America, Russia declared war on Afghanistan. She managed to bring her
family safely to America. But still, her heart was in Afghanistan. She found out there was a
refugee camp where all the Afghans were located. She decided to give this Pakistani camp a
visit.
In the refugee camp, she was shocked to see over 7.5 million people. most were woman
and children. All the men were at war or had been killed. She wanted to know what she
could do to help these people. She thought the greatest gift was education and health.
This was not an easy task. With outside assistance she set up 15 schools, with 25,000 kids
going to school.
After the fall of the Taliban, she went back to Afghanistan and opened up many new
schools and woman learning centers. Her business was very successful. She was very
satisfied with what she was able to accomplish, and rightfully so. A certain situation even
her realize men deserved the same opportunities, she presented to women. She set up
similar programs for men, and started to strongly support gender equality, but not only for
women.
Why You Should Watch It
I think you should watch this video for a multitude of reasons. The first being, realizing
how thankful we are to be living in a peaceful country with equal rights for every gender, race,
religion etc. For some people, these rights did not come so easily. They had to fight, scratch
and claw to earn those basic human rights. We living in the great country of Canada do not
realize how fortunate we are to be residing here instead of a war-inflicted country. We should
also be thankful for living in a peaceful where country, where war rarely ever takes place.
Another lesson to be learned is that you can and should learn to fight for your rights. If you
feel that you are being abused or neglected, use your voice and speak up. Change will only
come if you put in a substantial amount of effort. That is what Mrs. Yacoobi did here, and
I wholeheartedly condemn her for that.
Wanting Change doesn't automatically mean demanding change. Change is only achieved
if you put in the effort necessary the desired change to occur. Sakena did everything in her
power to achieve her goal. She could of stayed in the safety and comfort of the United States,
But she chose to go back to Afghanistan and leave her well-paying job, and go and instill the
values and morals of education in women. And she was very successful with her approach.
In conclusion, I think that this is one of the most powerful and meaningful Ted Talks I have
ever listened to. There are many different morals which can be learned and achieved by
watching this, but I think there is one very blatant in describing her story: Every journey starts
with only ONE step.
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