On Oct. 7, 2001, the United States and Afghanistan forces declared war on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Life was always hard for women in Afghanistan because of the inequality between men and women due to their religious beliefs.

“Women were not allowed to work or go to school. Many people in Afghanistan believe that a woman’s job should only be to cook and take care of kids,” said junior Tamkin Sarwari.

Religious beliefs were obstacles Sarwari had to face in school. She had to wear a Hijab in school and if she did not, she would be beaten by teachers.

“Some families did not send their girls to school because of religious beliefs and others stopped sending their girls to school after the Taliban came into Afghanistan and threatened to kill girls who go to school,” Sarwari said.

Families still do not send their female students to school because of their religious beliefs, knowing their daughters will never will never be able to practice the career of their dreams.

“Women are not allowed to work in the same place where a man works, “ Sarwari said, “There is no place in Afghanistan where men and women could work together.”

Sarwari was one of lucky girls who  fled from Afghanistan and come to the United States where she could go to school without facing gender discrimination. The Sarwari family came to the U.S. two years ago. Her father worked as a security guard with U.S. army after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

Sarwari’s relatives said the Taliban is getting closer to their cities and people are dropping their kids out of school for their safety. “Everyone is scared to go to school,” Sarwari said.

“There is no similarity between life in the U.S. and Afghanistan,”said Ms. Sarwari “I have freedom in the U.S. and that is important for students. ”