Central to the problems of women’s participation and women’s empowerment is the problem of education for women.
With the recent announcement of Nobel Peace Prize the significance of education for girl child has, yet another time, been majorly highlighted at the global level. Nationally, we have been trying to progress in this area for quite a few decades. But there still are many hurdles to overcome. Writer Rahat Abrar offers some insights regarding girl’s education in general and, girl’s education among Muslims in particular. To mark the 200th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on the 17th October, Abrar recently released his book “Muslim Female Education: Veil to Moon”.
The book focuses on the role of Sir Syed and Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah in the spread of education. “It is sad that the role of Sir Syed in the educational reforms has not been acknowledged enough. He was a true visionary who opened the doors to modern day education for Muslims,” exclaims Abrar who then rues the paucity of literature when it comes to female education.
“There has not been much work done. And, we haven’t carried forward the educational policies and idea of self help of Sir Syed,” says Abrar, who is the Public Relations Officer at Aligarh Muslim University. “But, things are changing now. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, majority of Muslim clerics were against women’s education. Today, majority of them are determined to educate their girls,” adds Abrar.
“In fact the title of the book ‘Veil to Moon’ is drawn from the life of Khushboo Mirza, a burqa-clad engineering graduate from Aligarh Muslim University, who went on to play a key role in the Chandrayaan mission. Then, there is the story of Dr. Sumaiya who accomplished the rare feat of winning 12 medals in her course of Medicine and Surgery. “These and many more such stories lie untold,” mentions Abrar who lights up with joy while sharing the fact that there are increasing number of girls receiving education. The book presents some rare anecdotes and facts from the lives of Sir Syed and his disciple Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah. In the end it talks about women’s education at Aligarh Muslim University.
Abrar reveals that of the total students around 40 per cent are girls. “And, we are constantly moving in a positive direction. There is a marked increase in the number of first generation learners in Muslim households.”
Asked about the high levels of illiteracy among Muslims. he talks of three existing problems and the ways that they shall be addressed. “Firstly, the problem is the divide between modern and religious education. We need to bridge the gap between the two. Here at Aligarh Muslim University we recently started bridge courses for people from religious education backgrounds. Secondly, female education should be brought in focus. We are currently constructing new girls hostels and are introducing new courses for greater participation of girl students. Thirdly, there is a need for proper channelling of the zakat (charity). Here, we established an Aligarh Zakat Fund as a private initiative and we built nine schools in the district for the orphans from this fund.”
The book is available in English, Urdu and Hindi.
