Why Should I Send My Daughter to School?

[Jacaylbaro]

Nimo was an 18 year old orphan girl born into a poor family, she lived with her mother in the Sheikh Nour village in the outskirts of Hargeisa. As many other young people in this area, she can not afford to continue her higher education. She completed 26 June Secondary school last year and according to her examination results, she became first female student with the highest score in Somaliland’s whole Secondary Schools education.

 

Nimo was brilliant student who completed her four-years secondary school education after walking 5-kilometers walk from her home each day. She comes from a female-household and her mother was really disappointed with her staying at home. She said, my daughter was a good student and showed a lot of potential and interest in education but unfortunately, she insisted the family can not pay for her higher education fees. “So as far as I know this, why should I send my daughter to school?” she said.

 

Culturally, parents sent their sons to schools instead of daughters, only few families encourage their daughters to attend schools. Therefore, it was primitive believes saying that educated women only work while the ideal women in our society should look after her children, fetch water, clean and cook when her mother goes to the market. Others believe that women are possible to neglect their domestic duties and disobeying their parents due to the higher education they might have achieved. But those days are exhausted and invalid today.

 

For that reason, it was unbelievable that girls in Somaliland especially at Hargeisa are more advanced than boys in education; today our society are more comprehensive and ignoring all primitive ideas towards female communities and different sectors of society as a whole. Girls have taken up a positive role in our society in development and no area is more evident than education, as they are more sincere than boys.

 

Today, if you look up around the streets in Hargeisa in the afternoons girls spent their luxury time going in the private schools. Six out of ten persons you pass on the streets were young girls who are carrying hand bags full of books.

 

Me, as a youth I believe that women deserve to be given a chance to educate same as men. As result of that, it’s quite comprehensive that the educated mother builds up the society from the base and teaches her children good habits such as kindness, honesty, telling the truth and respect. Really educated mother is an industry of constructive society she develops the child physically, mentally, and spiritually. Similarly, encourages her children in doing good things and also helps them with their studies by checking all their homework and preparing them a program to follow. But not all the mothers.

 

Apart from all of the above, she does so many other jobs. Educated women are very aware of the part she has to play in their society. She understands her responsibilities towards her self, her family and her country and that is how Islam believes as their right.

 

Do you know the history of the women’s struggle in the west? In 9th century French experts and philosophers held a conference which titled “is the soul in the women human or animal” they finally agreed that she is human but the objective in life is to serve for the man and make him happy. My sisters in faith, is that people believe like that told us today women’s rights.

 

Islam respects, venerates and honors our mothers and sisters. We have good examples in the Qur’an like Maryam, Balgisa and etc. Islam also absolutely rejects every thing that is against human rights. Let’s live with a life full of rights, respect, love and cooperation.