Afghan mum cradling baby during university exam goes viral

Afghan farmer Jahantab Ahmadi sits on the ground, her baby resting in her lap, as she focuses on the university entrance exam she hopes will help her fulfil her dreams.

The powerful photo, taken by a professor at Nasir Khusraw private university in central Afghanistan, has gone viral after striking a chord in a country where most women are illiterate and treated as second-class citizens.

The picture has sparked an outpouring of admiration and offers of financial help for the 25-year-old mother of three.

"I don't want to be deprived of my studies," Ahmadi, who comes from a remote farming village in Daikundi province where wheat, corn and potatoes provide a meagre income, told AFP in Kabul.

"I want to work outside the house. I want to become a doctor, someone who serves women in my community or society."
Another user posted: "I hope this hard-working woman reaches her goals."
"We will give her a house (in Kabul). There are many friends who have promised to help her. We are trying to find a job for her husband and also raise money for her children to go to school."
"But due to our poor economic situation and poverty I could not afford to study for three or four years."