Blood-Soaked Pines (Part II): Shabnam’s Shattered Dreams

One cold morning in Kabul, seventeen-year-old Shabnam Bakhtiari wore her clothes and arranged her books to get ready to attend a practice test for the national university entrance exam, Kankor.

It takes about half an hour to get to Kaaj Educational Center, where Shabnam was scheduled to take the practice test. Shabnam’s mother, Hadya, asked Shabnam to eat her breakfast before going to Kaaj. In response, Shabnam said she had no appetite and would be late if she took the time to have her breakfast. To save time, Shabnam takes some naan with herself to Kaaj, “The exam ends at nine o’clock. I will eat something when I get back.” Shabnam says to her mother. These were the last words that the mother and daughter exchanged with each other. Soon after, Shabnam left her home. Her mother closed the gates and returned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.