Afghan Principal Tested Water Daily to Protect Her Students

Every morning for years, an 81-year-old principal in Afghanistan became her students' human shield against the Taliban.

Razia Jan founded the Zabuli Education Center in Deh'Subz, Afghanistan, the first school for girls in her community. As threats from the Taliban intensified, she began a daily ritual that revealed her extraordinary courage: testing the water fountains each morning by drinking from them first.

"If the water is poisoned, I'm just one person," Jan told filmmaker Beth Murphy in the PBS documentary "What Tomorrow Brings." She was willing to sacrifice herself so that hundreds of girls could learn to read, write, and dream beyond the limitations placed on women in their society.

The documentary captured eight years of Jan's work and helped raise funds for her next ambitious project: a free women's college with a midwifery program. In a country where maternal and infant mortality rates remain tragically high, Jan saw education as the pathway to saving lives.

When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, both her school and college program were forced to close. Jan could have given up, but that wasn't in her nature.

Until her death in July 2025, Jan continued working through her nonprofit, Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation. She found new ways to provide early education, nutrition, and health services to girls across Afghanistan, adapting to restrictions rather than accepting defeat.

"Razia was totally undeterred by rejection," said Andrea Alberto, the foundation's executive director. "She said, 'We'll teach as many of them as we possibly can.'"

Why This Inspires

Jan's story reminds us that courage isn't the absence of fear but acting despite it. She knew the risks every single morning and chose her students' futures over her own safety. Her foundation continues this work today, proving that one person's determination can create ripples of change that outlast any obstacle.

Her legacy lives in every girl who learned to read at her school, every woman who dreams of becoming a midwife, and every person who refuses to accept injustice as permanent.