For 12 years, Zahida Qureshi travelled to and from school in Pakistan each day on the back of her brother’s bicycle. She became disabled after contracting polio as a baby and, with no wheelchair or social support, if she wanted to move around inside the school she had to crawl.
Six schools refused to admit her on the grounds that she would disrupt other pupils’ learning. At Candle Girls High School in the city of Multan, where she was finally accepted, she felt isolated.
