Behind most [Afghan girls] who succeed is a father who recognizes … that her success is his success.

Basij-Rasikh, an Afghan educator known for advocating girls’ schooling, frames girls’ achievement as inseparable from family dynamics in a patriarchal context. The quote highlights the often-decisive role of a father’s permission, protection, and pride in enabling a daughter to attend school and persist despite social pressure or insecurity. By saying her success is his success, it suggests a pragmatic reframing: educating a girl is not a threat to family honor or male authority but an extension of it—bringing status, stability, and future opportunity to the household. The line also implicitly critiques systems where girls’ prospects hinge on male endorsement rather than equal rights.