Photo: Kaye Gattis, Colonel Shafiqa Quraishi, Jill Dinwiddie and Leila Bekri (from left).
I have been fortunate to know and work with many inspirational women. Today I met one that I will never forget.
Colonel Shafiqa Quraishi is the Director of Gender, Human and National Rights within the Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior. Along with Kaye Gattis, Director of the N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, I spoke with her as part of the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program.
Prior to beginning her tour of select agencies across America last week, Quraishi was presented with an “International Women of Courage” award from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and met First Lady Michelle Obama. The mere mention of the honor made her very emotional.
“I don’t even know what I did to deserve this award,” she said, her quiet Arabic relayed by a State Department translator.
This humble activist doesn’t think what she does is extraordinary, but it is. She sees it simply as what she needs to do so girls coming behind her can have a better life.
The Colonel, who rose through the ranks of the Afghan National Police, works to ensure that women and girls learn about the laws that guarantee them basic human rights. The pervasive influence of the Taliban has made education and personal safety seem like unreachable dreams for many, but Quraishi said most girls living in cities are attending schools, and more women are achieving success in the workplace.
Education is the key that will unlock a brighter future for Afghan girls who, thanks to Quraishi, will gain the skill set and confidence few of their mothers have. Meeting such an extraordinary leader reminds me how fortunate I am to have a chance to make a difference in the lives of women and girls in North Carolina.