“Education gives a future” – the journey of a young female learner to achieve education in war-torn Yemen
Manar was born in 2003 in Sana’a and grew up in Aden, in Mualla district. When the war erupted in 2015, she had to quit school and stay at home in Mualla with her family and siblings. “The day the war started, we were at school and we were sitting a midterm exam. All of the sudden, we heard loud noise and unusual sounds. At first, we did not realize these were bombs and Hawks missiles. The school principal then came to the exam room and informed us that the exam was cancelled, asking us all to go home. I couldn’t go home as my father was working on that day outside Mualla and he wasn’t able to pick me up. I couldn’t walk home either, as our house is far from the school. I waited for three hours until my friend’s father came to pick us up and drove me home. I was terrified. I couldn’t make sense of what was going around”.
When she realized that her country was in a situation of war, Manar was concerned about missing school. “When I came back home, my mother explained to me that we are witnessing a war and that we have to lock ourselves in the house. For days and days there was no electricity, no food. I lost hope that the war would end. I was scared that I would lose someone from my family in this war, but I also had another concern: I wanted to go to school. In times of peace, students complain about school, because sometimes going to school becomes a boring routine. However, in times of war, one misses school because school provides a sense of normalcy”.
For several months, Manar studied alone at her house, while awaiting the end of hostilities and the school reopening. “Curricula in Yemen are relatively easy and self-explanatory. You read the school manual, and you can educate yourself. I was determined to not lose my education because of war. I studied all the usual disciplines I used to follow at school. I focuses in particular on sciences, my favorite discipline”.
As soon as the hostilities abated, Manar went back to Al Mualla Girls Secondary School, notwithstanding a perilous journey to reach school and get back home every day. “When the school reopened, there were still indiscriminate attacks from time to time in Mualla. Security risks were high, however those risks were less costly than the cost of losing my education.” Manar persevered with attending school, even though many of her peers had quit their education due to multiple perils associated with the war, economic hardship resulting in early marriage as well as child labour, and conservative mindset that views girls’ education as unnecessary. “Unfortunately, Yemen is a conservative society, and some families consider that girls do not need to achieve education. Some of my friends went to school until the age of 8, then their families forced them to marry”.
Manar considers that girls’ education is a must to build a better future for her country. “Women represent half of the society, if not all the society. Women raise new generations. If they are equipped with education and culture, they can raise new generations of young men and women who will build a bright future for their country”. Manar seeks to raise her peers’ awareness on girls’ education : “I always try to convince my friends that a woman’s role is not only to be a wife or a mother. A woman should contribution to society and leave a positive imprint. Women are agents for positive development”.
As top student with high grades, Manar would like to get a scholarship in Germany to study medicine. Her dream is to become a heart surgeon: “There are not many heart surgeons in Yemen. If I study and become a heart surgeon, I can help my country and my community”.
Manar is very enthusiastic about her great country and firmly believes that, if they work on it together, the young Yemeni people can “make Yemen great again”. “If we are all equipped with knowledge, we shall all team up together to re-build our country”.
Source: UNESCO Beirut Office: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/beirut/single-view/news/education_gives_a_future_the_journey_of_a_young_fe/
To watch Manar's interview: https://www.facebook.com/UnescoBeirut/videos/2132713120115081/?t=2
