Suzanne Fisher Staples Under The Persimmon Tree

768 Words2 Pages

Imagine being a young girl or boy in the Middle East begging for an education but the government led by a religious group, the Taliban, has imposed restrictions on children going to school based on a strict interpretation of the Koran. This exact situation is occurring in the Middle East and in Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples. In the book, Najmah is a teenager who wants an education but due to the presence of the Taliban in the Golestan Village located in Afghanistan, she can not receive an education. Another character in the book named Nusrat founded her own school to teach children of all ages in Pakistan that would not be able to attend school because of the Taliban. In the book Staples describes how the Taliban impact …show more content…

The most prominent influence on education which Staples describes is how the Taliban, the religious ruling government, have affected children of all ages by limiting access to education for all school aged children. The Taliban govern from a strict interpretation of the Muslim faith and anyone disobeying the strict interpretation of the Koran is punished immediately regardless of age or gender. In the book the Taliban comes for the Golestan Village and takes Baba-Jan and Nur to go fight with other Taliban members. The Taliban conscripts the boys for the military thereby preventing them from continuing their education. "Again Mada-Jan tries to go to him, but I grab her by the arm. “"We can not stop them," I whisper. "They might hurt Baba-Jan and Nur if we resist" I hold on to her with all my strength, and she throws back her head and wails"”(Staples 14). "I wanted to study, but the Taliban shut down the schools in our village and all the villages of Kunduz. There were no schools for girls, and the only school for boys was the madrassa, where the mullahs were very strict and taught people to hate. My father would not allow Nur to go to the madrassa" (184). Najmah wishes that she could go to school and get educated, but the Taliban has prevented girls such as Najmah to get educated. Since Nusrat has a

Show More
Related

  • Mary Chesnut A Diary From Dixie Summary

    1984 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut: A Diary from Dixie, by Mary Boykin Chesnut, Wife of James Chesnut, Jr., United States Senator from South Carolina, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1905. I to 352 pp. Reviewed by Mayra Catalan 02/27/2016

    Read More

  • Legal Story of Meena Gardizi

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Taliban regime was infamous for its treatment of women. Windows had to be painted black so men could not look into the windows of houses and see the women inside. Women were unable to work. Under Taliban rule, women were not allowed to be educated, unable to go to school or university. 9 out of 10 Afghan women are illiterate. Unfortunately, Meena was unwillingly cast into the role of teacher to young girls who wanted to learn how to read. Because she had been to university, girls flocked to...

    Read More

  • Farah Ahmedi

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1997, the Taliban made a law banning girls from ages 8 and up from going to school and forced all girl’s learning facilities to be shut down, according to Explora. Some girls still tried to go to school regardless of the Taliban and one of those girls is Malala Yousafzai. Her family did not hide their feelings toward the ban of girls in school to the public, when Malala was twelve she began blogging for the British Broadcasting Corporation about what life was like under the Taliban rule anonymously, and she also campaigned publicly for girls education rights, this enraged the Taliban. As a result, On October 9, 2012 when Malala was riding home from school, her bus was stopped by 2 Taliban members and they fired 3 shots at Malala, thankfully none of them killed her but she was seriously injured by this, as declared by NobelPrize.com. Furthermore, this is not the only harsh rule of the Taliban to women. Women were forced to wear a head-to-toe covering known as a burka, they were not allowed to leave the house without a male, and they made it a rule to publicly stone women who were convicted of adultery, as stated in The Other Side of the Sky, by Farah Ahmedi. Arguably, you can see their was a definite bias in sexes in the Taliban that is very unfair to women

    Read More

  • Cleo Virginia Andrews And 'Flowers In The Attic'

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cleo Virginia Andrews, more widely known as V.C. Andrews, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1932. Andrews was the youngest of all her siblings, and also the only daughter (V.C. Andrews). When she was a child she developed crippling arthritis after having surgery to treat injuries from a falling accident. Even with her limited writing ability that came with her arthritis, Andrews progressed to become a 20th century novelist. While her success and popularity came from her writing, she was also had a career as an illustrator/artist, she attempted to write a graphic science fiction novel, but it wasn’t picked up by any publishers (V.C. Andrews). In 1979 Andrews got one of her first novel’s published, the novel was called “Flowers in the Attic”

    Read More

  • Differences And Similarities Between Malala And Elie Wiesel

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani civil rights activist fighting for equal education in her country. Both Malala and her father, who ran a school close to their house, were threatened by the Taliban to stop allowing girls to go to the school and stop speaking outright about equal rights. However, Malala was already an advocate for girls education, writing on a BBC blog under a pseudonym, and neither her nor her father would back down. As a result, the Taliban attacked Malala’s bus one day as she was going to school, singling her out, the terrorists shot her three times and injured some of her friends. Although she

    Read More

  • Mary Pipher's Saplings In The Storm

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Running around barefoot, playing outside, and getting dirty were a few of my favorite things to do when I was younger; however, things have changed drastically since then. Now, at eighteen, all of the activities I used to enjoy make me want to cringe. Often, girls are encouraged to look and act a certain way based on what society’s expectations are at the time. Throughout adolescence girls tend to drift away from their old ways. Romances, body changes, and tensions with parents are all factors in this time of change. In Mary Pipher’s Saplings in the Storm, she claims that adolescents must adapt to stereotypical gender characteristics in American culture.

    Read More

  • Dianne Williams Stepp's The Filbert Orchard portrays a uniquely

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dianne Williams Stepp's The Filbert Orchard portrays a uniquely haunting experience. Dianne Williams Stepp's "The Filbert Orchard" portrays a uniquely haunting experience. The poem blaintly attempts to draw the reader in through its critical lense and perspective. Stepp's usage of many carefully connected literary devices creates a distinctive tone, effect, and message that exposes the tragedy behind southern ideology and values during the civil war. The success of "The Filbert Orchard" can then be traced to its tight construction and use of historical

    Read More

  • I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bibliography Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. N. p. : n.p., n.d. print.

    Read More

  • Taliban and Women’s Education

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women in America do not have to worry about a terrorist group coming and taking their rights away. They have a government that protects them from these groups and makes sure they have the same rights as others. In the Middle East, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, women are scared to speak too loudly. These women live in fear each day of their lives because if they make one small mistake it could mean their life. Yet, there are some people who are fighting for women’s rights, especially women’s education. Malala Yousafzai is a girl who fought for women’s education. At the age of eleven, Malala began writing a blog for BBC Urdu. The blog described how she was upset that women’s education under the Taliban would be forced to stop. Malala also appeared on national television talking about women’s education. She has become a symbol of resistance against the Taliban. Even after Malala was put on the Taliban’s hit list, she continues to speak out about what she felt needed to be said. Malala would give her life for this cause, and she almost did. On October 9, 2012, Malala was on her way home from her morning classes when a man walked on to her bus and asked, “Who is Malala”. When she said it was her he shot her. The bullets hit her head and her leg. The Taliban ordered for her to be shot because she was promoting western culture in Pashtun areas. In another case Mukhtar Mai stood up for women’s rights and was sexually assaulted by multiple men with orders from the tribal council. The tradition in Mukhtar’s tribe was that a woman who is sexually assaulted by multiple men should kill herself, but instead of committing suicide she fought for her cause (Samira 28-30). Although the Taliban restricts women’s education for religious reaso...

    Read More

  • Malala Yousafzai: A Voice for the Right to Women’s Education

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ziauddin Yousafzai’s school for girls was one of ... ... middle of paper ... ... eaving Malala’s only choice to stand up for her beliefs. Doing so left her in the hospital with greater expectations for herself in the future. The Talibans continue to make their impact as well, dangering many innocent people.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Suzanne Fisher Staples Under The Persimmon Tree

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Currently, thousands of refugees are seeking safety and shelter in refugee camps that offer little aid, and struggle to support the many refugees. This is not the case for the refugee camps in the Under the Persimmon Tree, and the refugee camps only depict very few elements of real world refugee camps. These are present issues portrayed by Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples. In this fictional version of Afghanistan, Najmah, a young girl, is separated from her family because of the war. Najmah then embarks on a grueling and long journey with numerous people, and sometimes her self. She pushes forwards because of the hope of reuniting with her remaining family. While on her journey, Najmah encounters many challenges and moral

    Read More

  • Greg Mortenson: Promoting Peace through Education

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Greg Mortenson is a truly influential person. He has built over 120 schools in central Asia. Mortenson believes that the real long term answer to terrorism “lies in education rather than fighting” (402). He has won multiple Pakistani humanitarian awards and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize two years in a row (Mortenson and Relin, 127). Mortenson built his first school in 1994 in a Pakistani village called Korphe. Korphe is situated at the base of K2, the world’s second highest mountain. Mortenson stumbled upon this tiny village after a failed attempt to climb the peak in honor of his late sister Christa. (Mortenson and Relin, 136). Since building the school in Korphe, Mortenson has built multiple schools around Pakistan and Afghanistan. His focus is on educating girls about the world around them. By building schools in third world countries, Greg Mortenson is impeding terrorism.

    Read More

  • Sandra Cisneros Four Skinny Trees

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    “They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong here but are here.” (74) This is a quote from ‘Four Skinny Trees,’ a chapter in Sandra Cisneros’ novel “The House on Mango Street.” Cisneros makes use of a unique type of writing known as vignettes to portray Esperanza’s, the main character, point of view. Her book contains a series of what may seem like detached poems, but by the end they are many little stories that flow together to describe Esperanza’s experiences while living in the little red house on Mango Street.

    Read More

  • Malala Yousafzai´s Speech

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malala Yousafzai give a speech at the United Nations. The terrorist attack make her strong person although she is young. She did not give a speech for revenge, however, she finds that talking about the importance of receiving education for all people at the time of shot. Further, Malala has a pure heart so she can’t hate Taliban. She has learned to be peaceful to all people from Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. And that what the religions asks people to be. She also talked about the importance of receiving education, and how educated people are stronger than uneducated people. That is the cause why Taliban against education. Malala pointed that peace and education are related to each other. Moreover, she presented that women and girls should be encouraged to receive education therefore they are the most individuals who suffering from inequality to be educated.

    Read More

  • Education In Persepolis

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    This education is completely based around the teachings of Islam, and it follows the strict rules that of Islam. Some of those rules include that boys and girls are to be taught in different classrooms, and girls are required to wear a veil that covers all of their hair. “The educational system and what is written in school books, at all levels are decadent. Everything needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not led astray from the true path of Islam,” (Satrapi, 2000, p. 73). Also, the Islamic regime required that all the textbooks of the secular schools be burned, and new ones were brought in so that the children of Iran would not become corrupted by western culture. This dramatic 180 degree turn in the Iranian school’s teachings are detrimental for not only Marjane but for the children of Iran

    Read More

More about Suzanne Fisher Staples Under The Persimmon Tree

Open Document