Like many women of the yesteryears, my mother didn’t
receive any certificates or degrees and was married at the
age of twelve. But she was my first teacher. I remember the
small chair that she sat me on in the kitchen and the big
spoon that she would wave while she cooked and read the
Qur’an in a loud voice, teaching me to read before I was
even four. When I entered the first grade at school, all of my
teachers were amazed at my reading skills and how I read
the Qur’an with such clarity. So this was my first school and
my first teacher.
I started my formal school education at Baba Abbas
Ghazawi School, I remember specifically one day when we
watched a movie at school through a projector on a huge
screen. All of the children sat watching the legendary actors
of the time in which we grew up.
I grew up and my dreams grew with me. As mentioned
earlier, my mother did not receive any formal education, but
she managed to offset this by reading. I can’t remember a
time in my life that I didn’t see her with a newspaper, book
or reading literary works. She used to keep all of her books
in a huge library for her two daughters. She inculcated in us
the love of science and sanctity for knowledge. She instilled
in us the ambition and the importance of excellence and
getting high grades.
My father’s side of the family opposed our plans to receive
higher education but our mother did not allow them to
interfere with our lives and encouraged us to continue our
studies. Even after the death of our father, she displayed
immense courage and continued to support us in our
educational pursuits.
That opposition, however, did not last long. In fact, our
relatives themselves allowed their daughters to join schools
and universities. I remember when some of my relatives
came to visit us one night and brought with them a man in
his fifties. I heard them talking to my mom when she was
still in Iddah, (the waiting period that a woman must observe
after the death of her husband), as I sat outside the door.
They told her that the man would make a good husband for
her daughter. I remember her refusing and crying saying
that she is only a girl. My uncle also refused and we
severed our ties with those relatives.
After the death of our father, we had to leave our villa and
moved into a small apartment. We had to change our
school from a model private school to a public middle
school. It truly was an upside down change. But when I
recollect those memories, I feel that whatever happened to
us made us stronger and wiser and helped us to move
forward in life.
I should admit that our mother played a crucial role in our
lives. If it were not for her, I would not have excelled in life.
SAMIA AL-AMOUDI
receive any certificates or degrees and was married at the
age of twelve. But she was my first teacher. I remember the
small chair that she sat me on in the kitchen and the big
spoon that she would wave while she cooked and read the
Qur’an in a loud voice, teaching me to read before I was
even four. When I entered the first grade at school, all of my
teachers were amazed at my reading skills and how I read
the Qur’an with such clarity. So this was my first school and
my first teacher.
I started my formal school education at Baba Abbas
Ghazawi School, I remember specifically one day when we
watched a movie at school through a projector on a huge
screen. All of the children sat watching the legendary actors
of the time in which we grew up.
I grew up and my dreams grew with me. As mentioned
earlier, my mother did not receive any formal education, but
she managed to offset this by reading. I can’t remember a
time in my life that I didn’t see her with a newspaper, book
or reading literary works. She used to keep all of her books
in a huge library for her two daughters. She inculcated in us
the love of science and sanctity for knowledge. She instilled
in us the ambition and the importance of excellence and
getting high grades.
My father’s side of the family opposed our plans to receive
higher education but our mother did not allow them to
interfere with our lives and encouraged us to continue our
studies. Even after the death of our father, she displayed
immense courage and continued to support us in our
educational pursuits.
That opposition, however, did not last long. In fact, our
relatives themselves allowed their daughters to join schools
and universities. I remember when some of my relatives
came to visit us one night and brought with them a man in
his fifties. I heard them talking to my mom when she was
still in Iddah, (the waiting period that a woman must observe
after the death of her husband), as I sat outside the door.
They told her that the man would make a good husband for
her daughter. I remember her refusing and crying saying
that she is only a girl. My uncle also refused and we
severed our ties with those relatives.
After the death of our father, we had to leave our villa and
moved into a small apartment. We had to change our
school from a model private school to a public middle
school. It truly was an upside down change. But when I
recollect those memories, I feel that whatever happened to
us made us stronger and wiser and helped us to move
forward in life.
I should admit that our mother played a crucial role in our
lives. If it were not for her, I would not have excelled in life.
SAMIA AL-AMOUDI
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