Part 1:
Her name is Ziba, from a remote area of Afghanistan named Wardouj one of the places in Badakhshan province surrounded by Taliban. A beautiful girl with green eyes, white skin and curly hair was born there. She had three sisters and a brother; her youngest sister was not living with her family. When she was born, her father wanted to kill her because she was a girl and having a girl child was a very bad thing for her family, especially in areas where patriarchy exists. When Ziba was born, her mother took her to her uncle’s house and told her father that she killed their daughter. Because if she does not do that, her husband might kill their daughter. Ziba’s uncle (her mother’s brother) was kind and he loved his niece; his name was Karim. He hid Ziba in a quiet and dark place so no one could see her.
The place where Ziba was born was full of Taliban and it was very dangerous to live there. Taliban posed a great threat, and girls could not go to school after the age of 8. They could not even go out to play with their friends. They even had to wear burqa when they were 10 and it was also a must to have hijab when they were under 10. Sometimes their families forced them to get married when they were between 10 and 15 because they were all fair and fodder of the Taliban.
Ziba was 6 years old, when her father thought she was not alive anymore and her mother could not even see her because she was afraid of the Taliban and her husband. If they knew Ziba was alive, they might have killed her, or they might have given her to the Taliban. She was almost 8 and she had never been outside of her house in all her life. She was still a kid when she was trying to read books with her cousins. No one taught her how to read, but she herself was very interested in learning and writing. She was always listening to her cousins when they were studying, and by doing this she could learn how to read and write. She took their books to read when they were not at home. She loved to go to school like other girls in other places her age and like her uncle’s children, but she could not, and it was very sad.
Once, when she was playing in the yard, saw the neighbors’ children going to school; they were laughing and playing. She also wanted to go out, but she remembered her uncle had told her not to go out because it was not safe. At that time, a girl between the ages of 6 or 7 saw her inside and called her to go to school with them, and she went. It was her first time going out; she was shocked and afraid. She had an old, small and torn tent on her head. Her uncle was not at home. When she went out of the house, a neighbor, who was a member of a Taliban, saw when her scarf fell down. He started screaming and hitting her and asked her why she did not wear Hijab. She was still a kid; she did not even know what hijab and burqa was.
When her uncle came, he saw many members of Taliban outside of his house throwing stones and saying, “Allah o Akbar, we should kill her because she went out without wearing a hijab.” When Ziba’s father came and asked Karim what happened, he could not say anything because Najib, Ziba’s father knew that, Karim did not have a daughter. But Taliban said his daughter went out without hijab. Ziba’s father asked Karim who that girl was. He did not answer, and the Taliban started beating him when Zinab, Ziba’s mother came.
“She is our daughter” Ziba’s mother said.
Everyone became quiet and silence was everywhere, and it was like the whole world fell on Ziba’s father’s head. He was shocked and mad at Zainab, his wife. He started cursing and saying bad words to his wife in front of people, and he said he would kill her when they arrived home.
People and the Taliban were still there, when Najib shouted at them, “Go! Why are you looking at us? I know what to do with this shit”.
He continued, “I myself, will kill her and her mother. I will punish them”. He was mad, and he started firing several bullets into the sky with his small handgun.
The commander of the Taliban was informed of this, and he came to talk to Ziba’s father. He asked Najib, Ziba’s father to forgive them. “You are mad, and you do not know what you are doing and saying. The commander ordered everyone to leave there.
The commander did that because he had something in his head when he saw Ziba’s beautiful and innocent face.
Everyone went back to their homes, but Najib changed Zinab and their daughter’s bright day to a dark day. He started beating them and his oppression became relentless. Najib took his daughter, Ziba to his house and locked her in a dark room. He was happy and at the same time was sad to have a daughter. He was happy because he was a father who saw his child, and he was sad because he was member of the Taliban, and he knew that he could not be a good father.
