When Breshna Musazai climbed onto the stage, leaning on a walker and her brother’s arm, the entire audience gave her a standing ovation.
The 28-year-old was the star of her moving graduation ceremony as she received her bachelor's degree at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Ms Musazai was shot twice in the leg by the Taliban in 2016, which only fuelled her determination to succeed in her law studies. She graduated with honours.
Crippled from polio, Ms Musazai couldn’t escape the Taliban fighters who stormed the campus, killing 13 people, including seven students.
She lay motionless on the ground after they shot her twice in the leg, playing dead for hours until the authorities finally arrived and killed the insurgents.
After receiving medical attention in the US, she returned to school in a wheelchair, defying the odds.
Ms Musazai has been praised as a “symbol of courage” by fellow student Sahra Fetrat.
Following in the footsteps of Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, Ms Musazai told Women in the World early this month that she was “going to continue to work and struggle”.
“I want to tell [them] that they can try to kill as many of us as they can, but that doesn’t mean we will stop fighting them," she said.
“When I was a disabled child, I always thought that I was nothing. Now when I see people who say they are inspired by me, I feel so strong.
“I want them to know that their support makes me want to do more. It also feels so good to see people using my story to support women’s education."
Originally from Afghanistan, education has always been important to Ms Musazai, who also attended high school and college in Pakistan.
Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani woman shot by Taliban attackers in 2012. She later won the Nobel Peace Prize. Source: Getty Images
She came back to Afghanistan in 2011 with her family and began her law studies at the American University in Kabul, The Washington Post reported.
