Bibi Afshan lives with her seven brothers and sisters close to the Afghanistan border high up in the Karakoram Range of Northern Pakistan. Like most people in her small village she belongs to a liberal Muslim sect called the Ismailis. In contrast to the more conservative Muslim sects in Pakistan, women are seen regularly in public with their faces unveiled. Like most Ismaili girls, Bibi Afshan was encouraged to go to school. She said her favorite subject is English.