The First Girls’ School in Peshawar
Chapter 6 of “Hold On”: Lady Griffith School Peshawar 2006
(N.B. I’m writing a novel, a chapter a week, here on Medium. Find out why I write here, start from Chapter 1 here, and always feel free to give me feedback in the comments. I write here for the community.)
Aftab Khan had moved, along with his family, from Kohat to Chamkani some time back. It was a small, decrepit house, with one bedroom and one common area with a stove and some cupboards in the corner. Nosheen arranged their old carpets and pillows in both rooms to create makeshift beds
Outside their humble abode, Hira noticed a different world from the one she had grown up in. The streets were hustling, covered in a constant grey layer of smoke from the old cargo trucks and other vehicles that sped past. Everyone here seemed busy, with their shops or rickshaws or their all-important government jobs. Most of the men in the neighborhood would leave their homes very early in the morning (many of them traveling all the way to main Peshawar city for work), and return home late at night, often after completing extra hours or moonlighting. During the day, the streets would be alive with the noise of young boys playing cricket or picking fights. Hira would sometimes watch them from her house, her eyes full of longing and her heart full of envy. She had never even dared to ask her parents to allow her to go outside to play, because she knew it was just not possible. As days passed in her new house, she began noticing how, like Kohat, women were seldom seen out in the streets.
Most of the children in the neighborhood were enrolled in a nearby school. This was a 5 minutes walk from Hira’s home, so it suited her family. Her father, however, decided to ask around before enrolling Hira there. He tried asking some neighbors about the best options in the area, but they all recommended the same school as it was the nearest. They told Aftab not to fret too much, as Hira was a young woman now and would be getting married soon anyway. She could complete her matriculation from any school. Nosheen recommended the same. Aftab then turned to his colleagues who belonged to Peshawar and would have a better idea. One colleague recommended the Lady Griffith School. This was one of the oldest and best schools for girls in Peshawar. Aftab loved this idea; he noted down all the details and went home that day to collect all the documents required. With the help of his colleague, he submitted the application within the week.
A few days later, Hira found out she had been accepted. Only Hira and Aftab were overjoyed in their family.
When they decided to confirm the offer, they realized that amidst all the excitement, they had forgotten to work out exactly how Hira would get to the school. It was a 30-minute ride away, located in the main city. After asking around about local taxis and rickshaws, Aftab finalized a monthly deal with one of the rickshaw drivers who was charging the lowest. Of course, this was because he was going to take 6 girls to the city every day in a rickshaw that could hardly fit 3. Despite it being the cheapest option available, this monthly fare of three thousand rupees was another financial burden for Aftab. He earned thirty thousand rupees a month. Five thousand were designated to be sent back home to Kohat for his older brother, Asif Khan, and his family. The house rent was ten thousand. His savings had been spent on Nazish’s wedding. After experiencing domestic abuse by Nazish, his eldest daughter, Hira’s education became the topmost priority for Aftab Given that the school had no transportation of its own and public transport was unsafe, and the limited private buses seemed to be centuries old and the tales of harassment of women on these buses were common, Aftab had no option but to shoulder this burden.
After much struggle, it was finally Hira’s first day at the Lady Griffith School. On this special day, Aftab Khan had promised to take her to the school himself. He dropped her at the main gate with eyes shining with pride and tears. He hugged her before she went inside and left only after his eyes could not find her in the crowd anymore.
Hira stepped inside; into a whole new world. She noticed a vast red brick building with small domes on the sides. It had large, arched windows which gave a glimpse of the classrooms beyond. In front of the building was a huge playground. On one side, there was a smaller badminton court. Near the corner of the building, Hira could see the hoop of the basketball court at the back. For some moments, Hira could feel herself finally that she belonged to this place, as she looked around wide-eyed. She felt the magnificent view and the openness of the building were welcoming her.
During the first lesson of the day, the principal of the school welcomed everyone. She then began telling the wonderful history of the building, which had been constructed as the Shahi Mehmankhana (Royal Guest House) in 1920 by the British. Years later, the wife of Sir Ralph Griffith, the then Governor of NWFP, dedicated this building to girls’ education. Since then, the school has been considered a pioneer in educating the girls of KP, the principal proudly concluded.
After the introductory session, a girl sitting next to Hira tapped her shoulder. Hira turned around to see a petite, radiant girl smiling at her. She introduced herself as Sadia and excitedly extended her hand. Hira awkwardly shook it. Sadia then began telling Hira about herself and how she was a local who had grown up in the neighborhood of Namak Mandi. She had been to this school throughout her secondary education. She then asked Hira to tell her more about herself. She said she had loved Hira’s thick curls and immediately decided she must be an interesting person. This was the first time in her life that anyone had complimented Hira’s hair or shown any interest in her otherwise. Hira was shocked by Sadia’s frankness. She felt intimidated, as the only girls their age she had seen be so confident were the ones back in Kohat with whom Hira had troubling experiences, to say the least. Worrying Sadia would turn out to be like them, Hira gave a quick, cold response and did not entertain Sadia’s many questions about her life.
