Afghan teen's Virginia graduation speech honors girls left behind

Less than two years after fleeing Afghanistan with her family before Kabul fell to the Taliban, a young woman says the plight of girls in her home country motivated her to graduate high school in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Rasa Jami joined Rock Ridge High School’s class of 2023 as the Taliban was closing schools in Afghanistan and barring many girls from attending those that remained open.

In late July 2021, Jami’s family left Afghanistan, after their long-awaited visa request was suddenly granted.

“Taliban get closer and closer around the city every day and every night,” she said. “I have heard so many gunshots around the city, like every night.”

After arriving at Dulles International Airport, Jami says she was overwhelmed.

“We were all shocked,” she said. “It was like an emotional shock for us.”

In Afghanistan, Jami had been fortunate, learning four languages, including English, at a Turkish school. Inside Rock Ridge High, the culture shock continued.

“My first and only goal was to get educated as much as I can, learn everything, just focus on knowledge,” she said.

With the Taliban takeover, secondary schools and universities are off limits to girls.

In her senior essay, “Dream of Peace,” Jami explained how those girls in Afghanistan have fueled her drive to learn.

“Every day when I walk into our school and sit in this chair, I remember the girls back in Afghanistan who have been imprisoned in their homes for 16 months just because of being girls,” she wrote.

That powerful essay put her in the spotlight at graduation.

“In this school, I don’t represent only myself,” she read at the ceremony. “I study here for thousands of Afghan girls who buried their dreams in their hearts. I will carry their rights and legacies. I’m here for the deprived girls of my homeland, from the land of the war.”

She said she hopes to someday be able to return to Afghanistan to share what she’s learned.

Her next stop, though, will be Marymount University to continue her journey to learn as much as she can for all those girls who can’t.