I’ve been meaning to write about this for a couple of days now but haven’t had the time to do so. There was this news article that hit me like a ton of bricks. Two teenage girls walking down the street are intercepted by men who throw acid on their faces simply because they’re going to school. Sort of a punishment for their desire to get an education, I guess. I don’t really need to go into the moral aspect of this incident since it is pretty obvious that the act was not only wrong but utterly coward.

I mean, is that all they have to scare these two defenseless individuals with? A bottle of acid? Apparently, it was nothing. They had a lousy weapon. What a shame! Is it because they knew that knowledge was a weapon that might be used against them eventually? Or was it because they were women and that they didn’t like the idea of them getting anywhere in life, let alone getting ahead of them? It probably was a scary thought that they just had to shamelessly put a stop to it. Whatever it takes.

But there’s something worse. Apparently, there’s a chance that someone from the authorities are actually paying these men to commit such acts on a regular basis and to make it look like it wasn’t their idea. They’re even paying them for each teacher they kill. It’s nauseating, really. And to know that these girls are helpless, what weapon could they possibly pick up to be able to fight back somehow? Just for human rights, and no more.

Education? Yes, but when it is forcefully taken away from you, there has to be something else in the meantime, to take its place. What could it be? Anger? Force? Rebellion? Or could it possibly come from a different place? Perhaps, like courage? Faith, maybe? Hope?

It’s fairly easy for a lot of us to give our two cents on this, I’m sure, since we’re far away from such situations. But I’d like to be able to put myself in the shoes of those oppressed and really see how difficult it is to find a way out when one is locked up not only physically, but also emotionally and culturally.

Personally, it seems like all I can think of right now is pray.

Speaking of weapons…