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Zahra Noor (center) sits in a writing workshop class. The
Nilab Sadat (left) and Zahra Noor are the first Afghan students to enroll at the University of Mary Washington.
Nilab Sadat (left) studies with Sofhia Qamar and Ben Saunders at the University of Mary Washington. |
In her native Afghanistan, University of Mary Washington freshman Nilab Sadat was whipped by the Taliban for wearing brown toenail polish.
"They were abusing the name of Islam," said Sadat, 22. "They were fighting for their dirty politics."
Flash-forward to October, when Sadat was going to class on what she thought was just another day at the Fredericksburg campus.
Soon after leaving her dorm, she said, she saw a guy in a miniskirt and a young woman wearing a diaper.
"I said, 'Something must be wrong today.'"
She later learned they were dressed up for Halloween, and she even took part in some of the festivities.
That kind of culture shock will likely continue for Sadat and her roommate, Zahra Noor, 22, who are the first-ever students from Afghanistan to attend UMW. Both moved here from Kabul.
The Initiative to Educate Afghan Women, a nonprofit founded in 2002, enabled the two to attend school in the United States for free. This year, the initiative is helping educate 42 Afghan women at 18 colleges in America.
Local philanthropist Doris Buffett is paying $20,000 a year for Noor and Sadat's education; UMW is covering the rest.
"We are our country's ambassadors here," Sadat said.
But they're also hoping students and professors will teach them a thing or two about the United States.
"I'm thinking that I should know a lot about this country's culture and history," Sadat said. "It makes life a lot easier."
CAMPUS SUPPORT
During a recent writing workshop class, Noor sat in the front row with her long, black hair tied into a ponytail.
One by one, students in professor Constance Fletcher Smith's class shared topics for their term papers, which ranged from marijuana's effects on unborn babies to the drought in Australia.
Noor said she'd like to write about Katrina's impact on New Orleans.
A classmate pointed out that the hurricane left mold and dirty water in its wake, prompting Smith to suggest a narrower topic for Noor's paper: the hazards of biological waste in New Orleans.
It's not light material, but Smith said she thinks Noor can handle it. After all, she had to practically beg Noor to skip class for a dentist appointment.
"When I was talking to her at one point, she said, 'I respect you like my mother,'" Smith said. "I said: 'Good. Your mother is telling you to go to the dentist.'"
Recently, Smith even drove Noor to an office-supply store and bought her a $200 printer.
That's the kind of support the two students have received at UMW. During a study group recently, freshman Ben Saunders patiently explained to Sadat the basics of U.S. government.
Sadat occasionally took bites of french fries covered in ketchup as she listened to Saunders talk about presidential vetoes, checks and balances and the three branches of government.
On the topic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she asked, "Can the president send more troops even if Congress disagrees?"
The Afghan women also find themselves explaining their culture. Some have asked them whether they can befriend Christians or Jews.
"I don't really care about the religion. I care about the human beings," Sadat said.
'ONE OF THE LUCKIEST'
Both dress in jeans and T-shirts like any other college students. In fact, a school administrator took them shoe shopping one recent weekend.
"Whatever I wear, I don't care," Sadat said with a laugh.
During an interview with The Free Lance-Star at the Eagle's Nest dining hall, she periodically looked up at passers-by and smiled or waved.
UMW sophomore Sofhia Qamar, whose parents are from Pakistan, met Sadat in political science class and has eaten lunch with her every Tuesday and Thursday.
Sadat and Noor were educated in Pakistan.
"I think I was the first person she actually talked to that wasn't part of the administration," Qamar said. Sadat celebrated Thanksgiving at Qamar's Stafford County home.
Acting UMW President Rick Hurley said he wants to recruit two more Afghan students next academic year. Eventually, he said, he hopes to have eight Afghan women on campus.
"To learn about their culture--I just think it's an exciting experience for our students to have," Hurley said.
All scholarship recipients must return to Afghanistan after graduation to help rebuild their country.
Noor, who hopes to major in business, plans to use her skills to help the poor. Sadat, who is considering international affairs, wants to work with Afghan women.
Before coming to UMW, Sadat was the director of a social club for women in Kabul.
For now, both are just trying to absorb as much U.S. culture as they can.
"I'm thinking I may be one of the luckiest Afghan girls," Noor said.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402Paula Nirschel, wife of Roger Williams University President Roy Nirschel, started the nonprofit Initiative to Educate Afghan Women in 2002. The university in Rhode Island was the first U.S. school to offer a full scholarship to an Afghan woman. The program now boasts 10 graduates and 42 current students, who return to Afghanistan during summer break. Representatives with the initiative periodically visit colleges to check on the progress of the Afghan students. This year, new Afghan scholars spent at least a month during the summer in the United States honing their writing skills, as well as participating in activities such as trips to the beach and volleyball. The program has received national attention, including from first lady Laura Bush, who was Roger Williams University's commencement speaker last spring. |
