Psalm‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬ ‭

  Psalm‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬ ‭

⁩ ⁨““Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬ ‭

When I first came to Khushal Hostel last year, I was shocked by how bad the conditions were and how unfair the rules were against the female hostelites. In the second academic year, things started to get even worse. Less food, replacing some of our more substantial meals with potatoes, newer and stricter rules like not being allowed to leave our bedrooms after 9:30 even to use the bathroom, not being allowed outside on weekends even to go to the hospital, verbal harassment and neglect by the warden of the hostel, the Wi-Fi being given only to male students and then announcing that we will be charged a fee to obtain our Wi-Fi passwords despite university Wi-Fi being a free service for every college granted by the government and not the colleges. Last weekend we got the news that they would also close the girls hostels on Fridays-meaning we would not be allowed to leave our hostel from 4:30pm Thursday until Monday morning, and if any sick girl asked to go to the hospital she was ridiculed, accused of having a boyfriend whom she would meet with at the hospital (despite us being escorted by hostel staff), and laughed at. I cried all weekend, thinking how could I live under such conditions? And how can the girls be helped when we have tried everything-talking with the necessary officials as well as submitting written petitions to fix our issues- and now the issues are increasing. I was distressed by the plight of the girls who live under injustice and are unheard, whereas the boys’ hostels receive whatever they ask for. I prayed as the verse above said that God would arise and act and help the girls. On Tuesday, a student organization announced a meeting to discuss hostel issues. Having many hostel issues, I decided to go. I spoke about the hostel issues as well as the inappropriate and solicitous response of a major college authority when I brought these concerns to him. My friend spoke about the sexual harassment of both female and male students. Members of the organization spoke on matters of corruption and harassment by certain university staff. Then it turned into a protest and then a riot. The video of my speech went viral, and suddenly the university could no longer ignore our concerns. Endless meetings with college authorities and police ensued with promises of fixing our situation. The VC asked the girls of my hostel if what I said was true, and they all unanimously agreed. Then the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called me to a meeting and promised to act on my behalf. That night after our meeting, the VC (head of university) came again as in previous meetings- but this time with action. The VC, Provost (head of all hostels), my hostel’s warden, and two other girls who were backing me up all met for three hours when every issue was discussed and action was taken. The treasurer was called and told that he would not be allowed to ask fees for the Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi passwords would be promptly given out. The rules about staying in your bedroom and not being let out on weekends were abolished by written decree and signed by the VC. The warden who was so verbally abusive to the girls and neglected to do the duties of a warden was let go, staying only until her replacement came, and the junior warden would be acting warden in the meantime. Even during the meeting she was yelling at me and after every word I said she called me a liar and laughed at me, so I asked the VC to remove her from the meeting, so I could explain to him without being harassed. When he took her outside, she was screaming at him as well. One proctor (a student working for the warden) told the VC that the water claim was also a lie, so I promptly pulled out my phone and showed him a video I had taken just the night before where I turned on the bathroom faucets and drinking water dispensers and no water came out. The provost said he had been trying for seven years to make the college supply the funds to fix the hostel facilities, and that night the VC told him," we will give you as much money as you want to just fix all of Delaney’s problems. He told me to wait twenty days and every single issue would be gone. The next morning, I awoke to find workers everywhere cleaning up debris and garbage, landscaping, installing lights and other electrical equipment, taking out the rusted, non-functioning water heaters, for the first time ever cleaning the kitchen and dining hall. The girls were saying it appeared to be preparations for a wedding the way people were bustling about making the place beautiful and clean. That night, the girls received two pieces of meat and three or four potatoes, as opposed to one piece of meat and two potatoes. Praise God for answering prayers to help these girls against the unfair treatment they received. Keep praying as God does act when He hears our prayers. Praise God for the opportunity for the good news as, condoning me as their advocate, the girls all crowded around asking me about why I came here, and I shared how I am a follower of Jesus, and He told us to love our neighbors and the Pashtuns were my neighbors in America, so I came to learn Pashto in order to better be able to love them as Jesus commanded. Keep praying for the broken people here who are just looking for hope and a hero to save them-pray they find that Jesus is the only King who can deliver them.‬‬⁩

Kendall Freeman

Nov 1 2024