Saturday, December 8, 2007

Three Cups of Tea Post 4-B

As I read the last few chapters of Three Cups of Tea, I have been forced to ask myself why this is the first time I've heard of about this.

Jean Hoerni, a very rich man who had been assisting Greg Mortenson for awhile, gave him a million dollars to make the schools when he died. Greg Mortenson built a school in Pakhora , Kuardu (where Changazi tried to have a school built), and Ranga (189; ch. 15). Shakeela, a girl who went to one of his schools, was the first woman in the Hushe Valley to have the opportunity to get a higher education.

Why haven't I heard about this in the newspaper?

Anyway, something else that surprised me was how controversial the idea of educating women appears to be. When the sher of Chakpo declared a fatwa (religious ruling) against Mortenson, he accused Mortenson of planning to educate girls at his school (184; ch. 15).

Something very similar occurred awhile back, and I got the idea that Muslims were against the female education. I was proven wrong when Mortenson got approval from the supreme Shia council in Qom, Iran, in a red velvet box. It explained that, "'.. our Holy Koran tells us all children should receive education, including our daughters and sisters" (199; ch. 16).

If that is true, why is it regarded as being bad before that? Although this whole idea might have been simply cultural, it isn't presented that way. It explained earlier in the book that the people of Korphe couldn't read (153; ch. 12). Maybe since they can't read the Koran, they assumed that it forbid the education of women.

No comments: