Politics was in my blood and I believe it was my destiny. God wanted me to live for a purpose and what greater purpose can there be but to improve the lot of the poor and bring pride to a nation torn apart by war?--Fawzia Koofi |
Even at that early age I had a sense of the injustice of the position of women in our culture. I remember the quiet despair of the wives who weren't loved or noticed by my father, and the trials of those who were.--Fawzia Koofi
Koofi was born into a family where her father had 7 wives, she was the nineteenth child and her mother was her father's favorite wife. Her father was a respected politician, but was murdered when she was only 4. She survived abuse and death all her life, including the murders of her brother and husband.
Marriage is an important rite in a woman's life, but I truly believe marriage should not prevent her from living her dreams. Rather, her dreams should become those of her husband's and her husband's dreams should become part of hers. This new couple should stand together and make the world theirs.--Fawzia Koofi
Out of all of this she was the only daughter in her family to go to school and even started medical school. She surely would've graduated, had the taliban not taken over while she was in the middle of her education. When the taliban took over, women lost the few rights they had.
After the United States freed Afghanistan from the taliban, Koofi took hold of her future and ran for parliament in the first free elections in many years. Her life is constantly in danger, but she knows the cause she serves is too important to quit. She also ran for the Speaker position in parliament and won as a virtual unknown at the time, and is the first woman to have the role.
She now wants to run for President in 2014. I can't imagine a better champion or leader for Afghanistan. I wish her godspeed.
