I am only a young girl. My name may never appear in a newspaper, my photograph may never be shown on television, and perhaps no one beyond my family will ever know what happened to me. Yet something happened that has changed the meaning of every tomorrow. A crime was committed against my body, but everyone now seems to be asking questions about my character, my clothes, my movements, my friendships, my silence and my future. I therefore ask one question—not only of myself, but of my family, my society and my State: How shall I live my life now?

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Every parent cherishes the hope of bestowing upon their children an education superior to that which circumstance once permitted them, believing that knowledge alone can lift a family from the constraints of limited means and open doors long closed. Islam itself places the highest value upon learning, for the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) declared that the seeking of knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim, male and female alike. The first revealed word of the Holy Qur’an was “Iqra”—Read—and this divine command admits of no distinction of gender. In the early days of Islam, women of learning stood among the foremost transmitters of knowledge; the Mother of the Believers, Hazrat Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), was a scholar of profound insight whose counsel was sought by the Companions themselves. Yet in later centuries, among many communities, greater store was set by the schooling of sons, while the instruction of daughters was frequently held contrary to local custom and tradition. Many households regarded a girl’s place as confined to the domestic sphere, deeming formal learning unnecessary or even undesirable for her.

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