Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation will sponsor a Fashion Show fundraiser at the Art Complex Museum on Alden Street Thursday, March 29 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Keep your eyes peeled in the Clipper for a press release from the group. It’s a serious fundraiser for the Zabuli School for Girls in Deh Sabz, Afghanistan, a tough little village on the outskirts of Kabul. Regular Clipper readers will know that the Duxbury Rotary, “Kite Runner” author Khaled Hossaini, Freida Majid Zabuli, and Duxbury’s Razia Jan have collaborated to found, support, and develop this initiative to provide the highest caliber of education at no cost to Afghan girls who most need such hope. That’s right – the girls and their families pay nothing for their tuition, books, supplies and a meal every day for the girls. Of course, some will find $50 for a fund-raiser under the cushions of their sofas, but others will need some lead-time. Think of it as a night out with a little glamour and a roomful of women who want to know how to slice through the world, look good doing it and feel great at the same time. I surfed through some of Mary Lou’s on-line stuff. The fashions she suggests look splendid, but comfortable and enduring as well.

All this may seem a bit odd in contrast to the conservative needs and habits of Afghan girls learning to be women in a country still troubled by violence, political upheaval, and profound oppression of women. It’s not. In fact, it’s right on. Afghanistan is a world of layers. The film, “The Beauty Academy of Kabul,” for example shows in vivid and heart-tugging detail how women in such dire circumstances nevertheless support and enrich each other with laughter, tremendous hard work, and fetching beauty in ways that you would never suspect. The DVD is available at the Duxbury Free Library, with another copy in Scituate available through the Old Colony Library Network. Beneath the enveloping burka, they still work to be lovely in private – and they delight and support each other in the process.

In other words, the evening and the money you spend in Duxbury for a sparkling time of cultured glamour and spicy laughter is no contradiction to the hard-scrabble needs of the girls and women of Deh Sabz. They would understand, and would laugh with as many earthy blushes and joy as you will – maybe more.

Meanwhile, you can get more information about the Zabuli School from the Ray of Hope Web site at raziasrayofhope.org.  The site has become increasingly detailed over the years since the school’s founding, and now offers several videos, including the 11-minute “What Tomorrow Brings” by film-maker Beth Murphy. A four-minute music video of Shania Twain’s “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face” has a thick mixture of Zabuli School girls, along with other Afghan women (and others) doing things you might not expect. Maybe it’s just me, but I think you’ll know Razia’s girls when you see them in the mix.

I’ve never been to a fashion show. God willing, this one will be a first for me. I don’t know quite how they work. Along with paying the $50 admission donation, I’m pretty sure you’ll want your checkbook. Remember that Afghanistan’s layers include stunning brocade jackets, jewelry and scarves to die for. Better yet, they’ll have all those things to live for.