Afsha Afridi was only three-years-old when she fell prey to the crippling poliovirus. As she grew up with the disease, life became more and more challenging for her. Despite her day-to-day ordeals, however, she never gave up and stayed determined to achieve all of her life goals.Hailing from Darra Adamkhel, one of the merged tribal districts where a particular set of customs and traditions define life, seeking education turned out to be exceptionally difficult for Afsha as a differently-abled girl.But her thirst for knowledge pushed her forward and she made education her top priority in life. Upon her insistence, her family sent her to a special children’s school in Peshawar after which there was no stopping her. Soon after finishing school, Afsha completed her intermediate education, followed by her graduation from a college. At present, she is pursuing a master’s programme in microbiology at the Khyber Medical University of Peshawar.“After completing my matriculation, I was determined to seek higher education even though it was a massive challenge for me,” Afsha said. “At every stage of my life, I had to deal with people who, upon seeing that I am differently-abled, treated me with pity and sympathy. I wanted to be defined by my strength and hard work, not my disability.”Afsha added that her parents had been extremely supportive and always encouraged her to move forward in life.“They always treated me like a normal girl and never even let me feel that I was differently-abled,” she said.With more than 70% of her body crippled, Afsha has not only defied norms by completing her studies but she has also set an example for other girls in her home town who either never make it to school or drop out after passing their matric exams despite being physically sound.“Those who attended the special school with me in Peshawar discontinued their studies after matriculation. I was the only one who kept moving forward,” she shared.Apart from studying for her master’s degree, Afsha is also involved in many other activities that even normal people find very difficult to carry out. These include doing social work for victims of domestic violence, running a start-up which imparts training to differently-abled women to work from home and owning a sports complex for women.“Earlier, differently-abled women were easily discouraged by society and thought that their lives were confined to their crutches and wheelchairs. However, many of them have taken inspiration from my work and are coming forward to do something constructive. I feel proud of myself,” she said.Speaking to The Express Tribune, Assistant Director Social Welfare Department Merged Districts Ubaidur Rehman said that the ratio of differently-abled people in the merged districts currently stands at 15%, adding that 14,000 differently-abled people have been registered with the directorate.“The number of differently-abled people is high in the merged districts because of polio cases, the two-decade-long war on terror and land-mining,” Rehman said. “Even though people are coming forward, more work is required in the area to make the overall environment all-inclusive.”Published in The Express Tribune, November 2, 2019.