[Original by M. KATO, Afghanistan Project (July 29, 2019); Translated by H. Ueda/J. Sparks]
A back shot of Zubaida.
Unfortunately, the female staff member I introduced to you in my previous blog left our office at the end of March, 2019. It is hard for local staff members, especially for women, to work
for a long time under the current social circumstances. After recruitment efforts, however, we found a new female staff member that joined us from June, 2019. Female staff members are indispensable to us given the participants in our literacy program that we are now working on with our partner organization, YVO (Your Voice Organization), are mostly female.
Zubaida, please introduce yourself.
Hello, my name is Zubaida Aslamy, the daughter of Samiullah. I live in Nangarhar. We are a family of 12, consisting of my mother, father, 7 sisters, and 3 brothers. My father is a policeman.
Please tell us about your educational background and business career.
I graduated from Nangarhar Teachers Training College in 2016. While studying English in college, I started working as an IT teacher at some schools and institutions. After graduation, I joined an NGO in 2017. Most recently I had a part-time job at USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Then I got a job at YVO.
Have you ever been to countries other than Afghanistan?
I was born and brought up in Pakistan until the age of three, similar to many other Afghans. We had a hard life there, so we came back to Afghanistan with the whole family when my father got a job in our home country. Some of my family visits Pakistan occasionally to seek medical treatment or to see friends or relatives, but I don’t have a passport now.
A picture taken during a short trip with her family. Very beautiful scenery.
What is your favorite thing to do?
I love studying and listening to music in my free time. In my effort to obtain knowledge and gain experience in various fields, I’d like to try a variety of jobs. As I am the eldest among my siblings, I have a great responsibility to provide a better life for my family.
It’s amazing that you spend your free time on study.
In fact, I now take lessons at a university from 5:30 a.m. in the morning before going to work at YVO. As my family expects me to be a doctor, I now study at a medical school. I can make it in time, since the work at YVO starts at 8:00 a.m.
From 5:30 in the morning? I’m so impressed by your energy to both study and work at an NGO at the same time.
Thank you very much. I’m very glad to be able to join YVO. I hope I can enjoy working with you for a long time.
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