Rifat Mahbub narrates a moving tale of a young girl who is forced to grow up before her age by the cruel world.
Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of FGM, rape, and sexual violence.
Aschiya’s mother named her newborn girl ‘Aschiya’ without any reason. In fact, she never knew that names should have meanings or give a person any meaning. She never asked whether her name, not of much use anyway, had any meaning. She named her baby girl Aschiya, but she knew some wealthy and educated people would call her Asiya. They don’t like the harsh ‘chi’ sound. She did not mind. She hardly met any rich people, but she knew because when she took Aschiya to the local primary school, the teacher called her ‘Asiya’. She wanted to correct it but restrained herself. After all, she did not want to offend the lady teacher on the first day of Aschiya’s school.