A Second Birth

 http://arts.byu.edu/calendar/eventdescription_v2.php?eventid=31

My class was recently assigned to go watch A Second Birth, a play put on by Brigham Young University's theater students. The play told the story of a young Afghanistan girl and her family. The family only had girls and so money was tight without a son to go to work and gain an income for the family. In their culture it was not uncommon for families like this to dress one of their daughters as a boy and treat her like a boy so that she could work for the family. These girls were called bakka push and were in danger of being discovered as a girl as this would mean immediate death with no mercy. The girl in this story became a bakkah push at a very young age. Unfortunately once puberty hit it became dangerous to continue living the life of a boy without being caught. Because the girl had lived most of her life as a boy, the transition back to being a girl proved to be very difficult. She could no longer study math and science, she couldn't leave her house without an escort, she had to stay home and learn how to sew, cook, clean, and take care of things around the house. Nasima didn't adjust well. She missed her old life and didn't feel that it was fair for women to have to live the way they do. Her mother and sisters tried to teach her that it was not a punishment but a gift given to women by Allah, it was the life that they were given. To make matters worse, her parents arranged a marriage for her. When she found out that the boy she was marrying was her long time friend things got complicated. He knew her as a boy named Nasim. At first he refused the marriage, the worst thing you could do to a family. Nasima decided it was best for her to run away. When her father went to the boy in desperate need of help in finding his daughter, he agreed to find her, but not to marry her. In the end when he found her and they talked about the situation he decided that he could love her. The story ended happily with their marriage. This story touched me because I couldn't imagine having limitations because of who I was. I feel fortunate to live in a society that allows me to go to college, to get a degree in whatever I choose to study, and to work in whatever profession I choose. I can do all those things and I can still be a mother and teach my girls to sew and take care of a home. I am grateful for the people that aided in granting equal rights to women. I grew attached to this family as I watched their story unfold. I forgot that these were college students acting a part. It all seemed so real and I could feel the emotions they were feeling. I knew that they cared about each other and that was the most important thing. Although I am grateful for the opportunities that I have, I learned from this play that no matter what path we are given in life the most important thing is that we make the most of it.