ECO_CARE meets Sughra

Hello! My name is Sughra Zuhad. I have grown up in an environment where education and having access to any opportunity have not always been easy, but this situation and environment made me think about the role of education, the voice of women and personal responsibilities. Thanks to this, when I see the people around me and the environment I noticed how important education is. My personal experiences shaped my perspective on leadership, and shown me that leadership does not start with an official position, but from small decisions, small starting, and  things we learn daily.

Photo: Malistan’s Map, where Sughra has lived here until she was 11 years old. The Malistan District is one of the densely populated and ancient mountainous regions in western Ghazni Province, with about 411 villages, a strong culture of strategic importance, and a predominantly Hazara population. In addition to agriculture and livestock, people also resort to labor migration due to lack of facilities. Its agricultural products include cereals, garden crops, and mountain plants. Due to its mountainous location, the communication routes of this district are mostly difficult to pass, and it faces serious problems in terms of infrastructure development of hospitals and schools. Sughra lived in Miradina, the center of Malistan. Photo credit: ResearchGate Site

 How My Experiences Shaped My View of Leadership

I have started my school in my hometown in the village.

 Our  school didn’t have good facilities and experienced teachers, with the consequences  that most of the students learned very little  even when they graduated. Some people were not even thinking about getting education, they were taught that getting education is not very important. For my family, getting education has always been important from that time till now. They realized the value of education and always encouraged us to continue our education. I continued my school till grade six there and during that time in winters of my grade fifth and sixth, I had come to Kabul and seen that in Kabul students learn in a very good environment and better facilities. When I was attending grade seventh, my family moved from Malistan to Kabul so that my siblings and I had the possibility to study in a good environment. I started my grade seventh in one of the private schools in Kabul, that was a very beautiful experience, Everything went very well. I continued till mid-term of grade seventh that the government of Afghanistan changed and girls had been banned from getting education. Things have completely changed since then, after many months I started learning English Language, that was easy either, most of the time the government had closed the centers and after a lot of persisting they had opened, this situation has continued till now. I have graduated from English Language program on May 2025. In 2024 I found an online school and started from grade eighth there. I have continued my school till now and it’s very good. On November August 2025 I started Advanced English program in Victory Afghanistan and done that, now I’m attending in a Mentorship Program. During studying my school online and studying in Victory Afghanistan, I have met many people from different countries and I have known about their country and culture a lot. From what I experienced I realized how a leader can have impacts on a society and the people of that society. These experiences all taught me the value of education more and more. I think that the decision to ban women and girls from school and getting education comes from uneducated people.

Photo: Here is Sughra’s house in Malistan. A house with simple decoration and design, but full of love inside the house. Sughra and her siblings loves planting flowers and other plants. Those plants are planted by Sughra and her siblings.) Photo credit: Hassan Ali Samim, 2019.

One day, I want to be a leader to change at least a small part of a society and help others. For me being a leader is not having an official position, it’s about being responsible for the people and having a positive effect in a society.  As I see my country and it’s limitations, it encourages me more to be leader and remove the gender apartheid and those limitations that are only for women and girls. I want to create opportunity for everyone to get education and work. Because when one community is banned from getting education, it’s not only about that society, but it rather affects the rest of the world. A leader must be able to inspire and help others, to bring positive changes, because they are responsible for their people and society.

Photo: A small part of Miradina (Here, where Sughra lived) The people of Miradina have land here that they use mostly to provide pasture for their animals. In recent years, in addition to providing pasture for animals, this area has been used as a football or volleyball field. Photo credit: Jafari Malistani (Sughra’s dad), 2025

3. Leadership and Empathy

Another important quality that a leader must have is empathy. When a leader is empathetic, they can feel other’s needs, people can trust them, on that time the leader can take a good and suitable decision for the people and community. Leader is leader, it doesn’t mean that they can just ordering to others or work only for their own benefits. Sometimes people need to be heard by their leader, to be felt by their leader, it’s not only about people but for the leader, a leader must always hear people’s voice and needs, and be able to feel what people feel. As such, leaders can lead a community better, people are safe and they can improve.

One example of a leader who shows empathy is Malala Yousafazai: she spoke about girls’ education even when it was dangerous. She thought not only about herself and her education but all the  millions of girls’ education who were and are banned from getting education. She is the voice of those who didn’t have voice, she understood them. It’s an example of  empathy that a leader is not only thinking about their own but understand and fight for all the people.

In my own life, I have also tried to develop empathy. Once my classmates and I had a group project in school,  one of my classmates had an important exam, then she asked to help her, I listened to her and I did the part that belonged to her, after that I realized how it is to be supportive. This kind of experiences can taught me that understanding others is an important part of leadership.

In conclusion, my experiences and all the  challenges I have been facing taught me not to  give up and understand myself better. They taught the importance of education, responsibility and empathy. For improving a community and for being a good leader we need to feel what other people feel, a leader must hear them and know their needs. These lessons shaped my  perspective of being a leader to inspire others, to understand others, to create opportunities for others. I believe that every small experience can bring a big change. I hope to continue learning and bring a positive change in my community in the future.