“When I saw surviving books, it was like a miracle for me”
University of Mosul student tells Malala about risking her life to salvage books from ISIS-destroyed library
Fear gripped Tahany as she entered the University of Mosul library for the first time in three years. She knew her mission: to retrieve as many undamaged books as possible. But she still wished there was someone there to hold her hand.
Tahany was a master’s student in economics at the University of Mosul before ISIS took over the city and “everything changed.” ISIS took control of the city in 2014 and began restricting what women could wear, where they could go, what they could say — and inflicted brutal punishments for those who did not comply. Out of concern for her safety Tahany abandoned her education and hid inside her house for 954 days. She counted every single one of them.
Tahany decided that she needed to do something to help her struggling community. She joined Mosul Eye, an anonymous historian who blogs about daily life in the Iraqi city and supports its cultural institutions.
After ISIS burned down the historic library, supporters of Mosul Eye risked their lives to save whatever books they could from the library’s remains. Tahany remembers seeing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the floor as they searched. As she looked at the rubble that was once a centre for learning and knowledge, Tahany thought to herself: “Please let me live so I can show people what happened to my library.” Their 40-person group salvaged approximately 2,000 books.
Tahany shared her story with Malala when they met during Malala’s Girl Power Trip stop in Iraq this week. Tahany and the supporters of Mosul Eye are running a worldwide book drive to rebuild their library. Malala presented them with a donation of books on behalf of Malala Fund, including a copy of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in Arabic from Secretary General António Guterres.
University of Mosul library director, Mohammed Jasim said that the library has received around 10,000 donations so far, but only 1,000 are of a high enough caliber. “We have to be selective, it’s not storage for bales of books. We have a criteria,” he said. In addition to rebuilding their collection, Mr. Jasim faces other obstacles: “We’d like to reopen as soon as possible but we don’t have chairs, tables or shelves to put our books on.”
Tahany wants to return to school and complete her degree in economics. In the meantime, she will keep “fighting for the women of Mosul and my city and my library.”
As Mosul’s difficult road to recovery begins, Tahany’s story of courage provides hope amidst darkness. With her peers, Tahany is working to rebuild the city. One book at a time.
In April, Malala kicked off her global #GirlPowerTrip to meet with girls like Tahany and amplify their stories. Each girl has a unique story to tell — and their voices are our most powerful weapons in the fight for education and equality.
