WhisperCalls and tears [Archives:2005/875/Culture]

By Fahmia Al-Fotih
Last week was really a week of tears and calls! The results of high school were announced and the students along with their parents turned into bees! Some people hold telephone lines for long hours either to know the results or to tell his family or friends the result ( of course in case he/she scored high). Having a glance at their scores in the Internet cafes, some students rushed to street in an extreme state of pleasure and others burst into tears.

In fact, I received many calls from dear students as the results of the secondary school level were announced. Some of them were extremely happy while others were disappointed as they could not get the marks they wished. Without compliments, my female students, along with other girls all around the republic, scored high; some of them were very close to the top students of the republic, mostly girls. The overall results vividly revealed that for the fifth year in a row, girls outperformed boys.

Their success and failure reflects on me as a teacher. They did their best. They stayed sleepless for nights and now they harvested the fruit of their efforts.

I am not impartial with girl students but what I write here is the truth that is apparent to all people but some of them have dare not admit that girls work harder than boys.

It is remarkable that the schools of girls are more disciplined and more organized.

In spite of girls distinction in the schools as well as in universities and then in their job fields, the majority of Yemeni fathers tend always to disappoint their daughters and deprive them of continuing their education as well as they do not appreciate their daughters' successes and works.

For instance, Somia is one of my bright students and she has gotten a distinctive grade. When she telephoned me, she was not happy at all. I wondered why and told her that she had to be the happiest girl since she achieved something that her brother and other male students failed to do so. She can join any college with that grade. She sadly told me that no one from her family congratulated her for her wonderful achievement. On the contrary, her father along with her brother wanted to congratulate her in a different manner as they had already decided her future and killed her dreams. Somia is not allowed to go to university and she could hang her certificate on the kitchen wall! That was their decision as they think, like the majority of Yemeni people, that her right career is in the kitchen irrespective of the marks she scored. Somia has a dream to go to medicine college but it seems that her dream will not come true as she has a careless father and a jealous brother.

I deeply felt sorry for Somia and her alikes who could not continue their education due to family traditions and culture.

In the previous column, we have talked about the importance of girls education and some people, unfortunately, still do not support girls education and still cling the conservative ideas in their minds about women and try to marginalize their role.

In spite of the great disappointment that Somia has had, I congratulate her and pray for God to help her fulfill her dream and make it true! For my all schoolboys and schoolgirls in the republic of Yemen “Congratulations”
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