Hanifa Alizada

I was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan in June 1989. Due to the civil wars in Afghanistan and the deteriorating condition of the country my family decided to migrate from Ghazni to Tehran when I was 8 years old.

Afghan refugees in Iran were not allowed to be educated inside Iranian schools. Therefore, I did my elementary schooling in Tehran at a school for Afghan Refugees called Rasool-e- akaram , even there our schooling was limited to grade seven beyond which Afghan children were not allowed to receive further education.

Due to the lack of educational opportunities and the hope for a better Afghanistan after American intervention persuaded my family to shift back to Kabul in 2002 where my siblings and I were able to continue our education.

In 2007 I graduated from Marefat High School in Kabul, which is when my principle informed me about the UMISAA (UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute for South Asian Arts) scholarship offering me a chance to study at the Beaconhouse National University in Pakistan.

After applying for and receiving the UMISAA scholarship I joined BNU in 2008. I am now about to graduate from the Fine Art Department form the School of Visual Arts and Design of BNU.