Mahjabeen was 15 years old. She was a born artist. Since childhood, she had a strong interest in drawing and sketching; whatever resources she had, she would use them to create amazing sketches.

As Mahjabeen grew older, she started reading about famous artists and painters, exploring their ideas and style, which broadened her perspective. In school, Mahjabeen’s teachers and friends praised her talent and encouraged her to take part in contests and competitions. Despite all the complements Mahjabeen received, she remained humble.

One day, after dinner, as she settled in her room, she followed her daily habit and took out her sketchpad and started drawing. She drew a girl who looked a little sad, and then wondered why she appeared that way. She then drew a cage around her, representing the condition of women in the world. Mahjabeen knew that in many parts of the world, girls were still not allowed to study or freely express their opinion.

These and many similar ideas started building in her mind, and she drew accordingly. The girl in the cage clearly represented a bird trapped inside, longing to fly.

It was a powerful design and she was very happy with the result. She was looking at her artwork, about to give it some final touches, when she suddenly heard a knock on her door. It was her aunt, Sadia. She was quite old and had a rude attitude towards everyone. She often felt jealous when she saw people doing well in anything, as she had achieved nothing notable in her life.

As soon as she entered, she greeted Mahjabeen, who warmly welcomed her and happily showed her new drawing, hoping she would admire and appreciate it.

However, despite how good the work was, Aunt Sadia laughed and said, “Mahjabeen beta, you need to broaden your horizons. You are literally living in the Stone Age and your work reflects that.”

Mahjabeen did not expect this. She was heartbroken. Before she could recover from the hurtful words, Sadia aunty called the sketches on the wall “useless.” Her words felt like a sharp knife to Mahjabeen.

When her aunt left the room, Mahjabeen could not hold herself back and began to weep uncontrollably.

These words shattered her confidence. Eventually, she stopped drawing altogether. She even tore up her artwork and broke all her sketching and painting materials. She promised herself that she would never get back to doing this again.

Unfortunately, not every story ends on a positive note, where someone overcomes all odds. Sometimes, confidence once lost, is never regained. This story reflects exactly that.

Often, we say things or laugh at our siblings or others because of their actions or what they say. They are young, immature and still learning. Even if it is unintentional, it can discourage them. No matter how small an achievement they share, it is very big for them and they need to be motivated with kind words from us.

Artists, singers, dancers and others are often first trained within their families. After achieving success at an initial stage, they go on to showcase their talent, but discouragement from family members can make them give up early, shattering their confidence forever.

We should support them, as they are the future. So, please keep encouraging children in every way possible.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 13th, 2026