Class Dismissed

In once peaceful Swat, Pakistan, the Taliban is violently closing all schools for girls. A schoolmaster and his pre-teen daughter respond. (NYT)

Once a peaceful region and tourist destination, Swat Valley, Pakistan has been taken over by the Taliban since 2007. More than 200 schools for girls have been blown up and the Taliban issued a decree that all schools for girls were to close down by Jan. 15, 2009.

This New York Times video story is told from perspective of man who runs a private school for girls and his 11-year-old daughter who dreams of becoming a doctor. The video follows them, at home and in the classroom, during her last day of school, documenting their frustration.

The Pakistani military offered to guard the school but the headmaster is not willing to take the risk, even though closing the school will end his career. Although a quarter of the city’s residents have already left, he has vowed to stay in Swat fighting for his cause, and his daughter is determined to get her education whether it be at school or at home.

CHANNEL: New York Times

Length: 14:24

By Adam B. Ellick & Irfan Ashraf

VIEW: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/02/22/world/asia/1194838044017/class-dismissed-in-swat-valley.html