The Education We Take for Granted by Hannah Liu

What if going to school wasn’t a guarantee?

Have you ever imagined waking up and simply…not having to come to school?
With students like yourselves dealing with academic pressure, sleepless nights and hard work not paying off, this seems like a dream come true. Honestly, who wouldn’t enjoy having all this load off their shoulders?

This is where people completely misunderstand this idea. Education isn’t supposed to be a burden, it is a privilege. While every morning we drag ourselves out of bed, complain about homework or deadlines, hundreds and thousands of girls around the world don’t even have the chance to sit in a classroom. Around 122 million girls are out of school globally, held back by poverty, child marriage and gender norms. They wake up everyday carrying the pain in their heart, knowing that they are unfortunately destined to have different futures than their brothers.

Although sometimes school can be stressful, it is one of the most powerful foundations we’ve ever been given. Education isn’t just about writing essays or memorising equations, it shapes who we become. It builds identity. It builds potential. It teaches young people to think for themselves, to question the world around them and to form strong perspectives. When you consider today’s young people (Gen Z and Gen Alpha), it is vital for them to have solid education. In a rapidly evolving AI-driven world, they need critical thinking, digital literacy and adaptability. For many girls in Afghanistan, this is what they’re wishing for on every birthday candle.

Today, Afghanistan stands out as the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly forbidden to girls and women. According to the United Nations, nearly 2.2 million Afghan girls are barred from attending school beyond the primary level since the Taliban regained power in 2021. Sadly, it is not just Afghanistan that faces this problem, it is a global crisis. South Sudan, the world’s newest country gaining independence in 2011, ¾ of girls do not even make it to primary school. In Niger, 1/10 of girls attend secondary school with child marriages, early pregnancies and poverty pushing many out long before they have a chance to learn. Ethiopia,⅖ girls are married before the age of 18. Burkina Faso, 1% of girls finish secondary school. Liberia, ⅔ of primary-age pupils out of school. Think of it this way, all these girls have been denied the opportunity to live a simple life just like yours.

All the smart women that could have become doctors, engineers, and writers are not allowed to achieve their dream any longer. These poor girls have just as much ambition, just as much determination and drive to attend school and learn. Imagine being on a bridge and it leads to all your hopes and dreams in life on the other side. However as you excitedly walk across, the whole bridge just shatters and there is a huge gap between where you are and the other side. There is no way to get across, and unfortunately, you have no choice but to start walking back to where you came from.
As a young girl myself, having the opportunity to learn freely, I cannot imagine waking up each morning knowing that my education is taken away from me. I always strive for excellence and try my best in everything I am given because I know I should not take anything for granted. I think about my own family members in the past who had to work from a young age to support their households, who never had the chance to sit at a desk. Their stories remind me that the opportunities today were never guaranteed for them, and are still not for millions of girls around the world.

“There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is a pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.” – Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.
As you may know, Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani education activist and the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate, is living proof of her own words. This is why girls' education must be acknowledged as more than just a routine part of life. It is a privilege. A privilege that too many girls are denied from. When a girl is kept out of school, it is not just her future which is limited, it is her independence, her voice, her safety and her ability to shape her own life.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll complain about my alarm, rush to school and sit down in class doing assessments. Somewhere else, another girl my age will wake up wishing she had that same opportunity. The difference between us isn’t talent, ambition or potential, it is simply just access. What feels ordinary to us could change the life of someone else.

​Hannah Liu
​Year 11