Amidst violence, this Kashmiri girl's results are unbelievable

After Burhan Wani’s assassination, Tral town of Pulwama became a central point of conflict, violence, and sudden uprising making this small town infamous. Now, a 17-year-old Shaheera Akhtar’s achievement is making this town famous. She is the topper of the Class 12th board examination who secured 498 marks out of the total 500 marks. Two years ago, she was the second topper in class 10th exams with 491 marks out of 500.

Shaheera is a resident of Dadsar village in south Kashmir known for militancy and violence. She is a student of Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, and she achieved this feat despite impossible conditions in the valley that is going through one of the worst situation in the recent past. She excelled at a time when conflicts, violence and curfew paralysed the normal living condition in Kashmir post Wani’s killing.

The violence following the killing of Wani forced Shaheera to discontinue her coaching and made her home-bound in the month of July 2016, the very next month her grandfather passed away. 

“I was worried about my mathematics as 60 per cent of the syllabus was incomplete. There were protest marches and mosques airing pro-freedom songs. Amid raging streets, I went to local village-level community coaching centres to complete my syllabus,” she was quoted by The Hindu as saying.

For her success, Shaheera gave credit Allah, her family, and teachers, and she also drew attention to the struggles of students by saying that she had to take ‘long detours to reach teachers, waited for hours together to avoid marching protesters and avoided streets where clashes were on all day’.

Shaheera’s struggle and determination is an inspiration for all who often blame their situations and circumstances for their failure. All it takes is perseverance and focus on rising above all and performing one's best. This 17-year-old’s dedication towards studies is truly commendable and a lesson even for the adults. 

• Jammu & Kashmir