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Good Morning. Today is world book day which aims to promote and encourage reading for fun. Across the world children are dressing up as their favourite book characters and participating in lots of fun, reading-related activities. My young nephew will be going to school dressed as Fantastic Mr Fox this morning. We take access to books and education for granted of course. However, there are still places today where children, especially girls are denied this right. In Afghanistan, it’s 528 days since the Taliban banned girls from high school, and 74 days since they banned women from university. Millions of girls in Afghanistan are unable to access this most basic of human rights. In protest over the Taliban’s barring of women from higher education, Ismail Mashal, a university professor in Afghanistan, tore up his own diplomas live on Afghan Television. Using a cart, named ‘iqra’, which means “read” in Arabic he also distributed his personal collection of around 21000 books for free to girls and women across Kabul. Professor Mashal was arrested and little is known about his whereabouts. He joins the thousands of ordinary citizens of Afghanistan that have been protesting against the ban. The word Sikh, is derived from the Sanskrit shishya, meaning a “disciple” or “learner.” The Sanskrit word ‘guru’, long used in India to denote a revered teacher, literally “the one who dispels ignorance,” is also used specifically by Sikhs as a title for our ten founders and holy scripture. In the holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, Vidiaa or education is characterised as light and its opposite, avidiaa as darkness. The Guru inspires us to enlighten ourselves through education and experience and help others in acquiring knowledge because without knowledge and wisdom we are unable to carry out all our individual and civic duties. As the 4th Guru, Guru Ram Das says, ‘Blessed is that mortal being, who shares the Teachings for the good of others.’ (311) Guru Angad, the 2nd Guru, opened schools and also standardised the Punjabi alphabet into Gurmukhi, the script in which Sikh scriptures are written, to ensure that education and teachings were accessible to all sections of society. Reading and education provides a route for the mind to explore new worlds, new experiences and for the young, particularly girls, is the key to opening the door to a better life. So while enjoying World book day I will be using this day to reflect on those children wherever they are who are denied this basic human right and to stand in solidarity with those fighting for it.