Islamabad , Paksitan ( CNN ) -- Life is slowly getting back to normal at the women 's campus of Islamabad 's International Islamic University . The young women who study here chatter on the school 's well-manicured lawns , their brightly-colored scarves and Pakistani dresses blowing in the wind on a sunny autumn day . Barely three weeks ago , this quiet place of learning was the scene of a nightmare . On October 20 , two suicide bombers launched near simultaneous attacks on both the men 's and women 's side of the campus . Afsheen Zafar , 20 , is in mourning . Three of her classmates , girls she describes as `` shining stars , '' were killed on that terrible day . Still , she says the carnage could have been much worse if not for the actions of a lowly janitor , who was also killed . `` If he did n't stop the suicide attacker , there could have been great , great destruction , '' Zafar says . `` He 's now a legend to us , '' says another 20-year-old student named Sumaya Ahsan . `` Because he saved our lives , our friends ' lives . '' The janitor 's name was Pervaiz Masih . According to eyewitness accounts , the attacker approached disguised in women 's clothing . He shot the guard on duty , and then approached the cafeteria , which was packed with hundreds of female students . Masih intercepted the bomber in the doorway , however , and the bomber self-detonated right outside the crowded hall , spraying many of his explosive vest 's arsenal of ball bearings out into the parking lot instead of into the cafeteria . `` The sweeper who was cleaning up here saw someone outside and went towards him , '' said Nasreen Siddique , a cafeteria worker who was wounded in the head , leg and arm by the blast . `` [ Masih ] told him that he could not come inside because there were girls inside . And then they started arguing . And then we heard a loud blast and all the glass broke . '' `` Between 300 to 400 girls were sitting in there , '' said Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik , the rector of the university . `` [ Pervez Masih ] rose above the barriers of caste , creed and sectarian terrorism . Despite being a Christian , he sacrificed his life to save the Muslim girls . '' Masih was a member of Pakistan 's Christian minority , traditionally one of the poorest communities in the country . When the attacker struck , Masih had been on the job for less than a week , earning barely $ 60 a month . Masih lived with seven other family members , in a single room in a crowded apartment house in the city of Rawalpindi . Until the attack his mother , 70-year old Kurshaid Siddique , worked as a cleaning lady at a nearby house to help make ends meet . Now , she makes a daily pilgrimage to the cemetery where Masih is buried . Siddique is inconsolable . Asked if she was proud that some people were calling her son a hero , Siddique waved a hand in the air dismissively , answering , `` My hero is dead now . '' She pulls out a framed photo of her son , pictured wearing a button down white shirt and a thick mustache . When Masih 's three-year-old daughter Diya sees his photo , she reaches for it , saying , `` Mama , I want that picture . '' From time to time , Diya turns to her mother and repeats one word , `` Papa . '' The Islamic University offered to give Diya a free education and employ Masih 's widow , Shaheen Pervaiz . Meanwhile , the Pakistani government has promised to award Masih 's family 1 million rupees ( about $ 12,000 ) for his bravery . `` He is a national hero because he saved the life of many girls , '' said Shahbaz Bhatti , minister of minorities in the Pakistani government . `` As a Christian , a person of minority , he stood in front of the Taliban to protect the university . '' But the grave of this national hero is a sorry sight . It is located in the poorer , garbage-strewn Christian half of a neighborhood cemetery , less then three feet from a muddy road . Masih 's mother and widow visit every day . One of his sisters crosses herself , then stoops down to pick up an empty pack of cigarettes someone threw onto the little mound of earth . The family had to borrow money to pay for Masih 's funeral and they are now behind on paying the rent . If the government money comes through , Masih 's mother would like to decorate her son 's grave . `` I would like him to have his name in cement with a nice poetry verse , '' she says . `` And there should be a fence surrounding his grave . ''
Janitor Pervaiz Masih lauded as national hero after attack at the university . He stopped suicide bomber in room full of female Muslim students . He threw vest at attacker but blast hit into parking lot , not school . Professor : Despite being a Christian , he sacrificed his life to save Muslim girls .