The right to education

Last week a very sad thing happened in Johannesburg. A mother died in a stampede outside a University as she waited with her son to see if he could gain admission to study further after completing secondary school. What happened was that many students who completed Grade 12 last year didn’t expect to pass with university admission. So after getting their results they realised that they were eligible to study at tertiary level, thus there were thousands of students queued up outside the university waiting to see if they could get last minute admission. When the university finally opened up its doors, people began to push and shove (which is natural in any huge crowd where people have been waiting for hours). The result was that a mother who was with her son passed away and some other people got injured. This is a tragic thing to happen, but it highlights some very important issues within South African society, one of these being that although many people are still in need of good education, access seems to be rather limited.

The fact that thousands of prospective students were queued up outside the university clearly shows that people believe education is the key to a better future, yet so many people don’t have proper access to education at all levels. The other thing that stands out for me is that education has become this thing that is way too formalised and theoretical. There are so many skills that can be acquired in life and the truth is that many things cannot be learnt at university. Also, even when people do gain admission to university, there are many obstacles that they have to deal with. High student fees, expensive textbooks, difficulty coping or adjusting to working independently, large workloads etc. I know that all this is part and parcel of life but it just seems to me that a basic right such as education is so difficult to come by, and I really don’t think it should be this way.

Seeking knowledge is also a fundamental part of Islam. Muslims have been encouraged to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave so our quest for knowledge should in fact never cease, it should be ongoing and continuous. In these times when gaining education is so difficult and expensive, it may be worth noting that knowledge can be found in many ways and forms. “Education” is not and should not be restricted to an institute, whether it’s a school, a university or even a workplace. Education is far too broad and multi-dimensional to be restricted. Knowledge can be acquired in many ways and people should not be afraid to learn whatever they can, even if they think it’s irrelevant to what they want to do in life.

My mother always tells us that she had an aunt who always told her to “steal with the eye”. What this aunt meant was that through watching someone do something, you can learn how to do that yourself. This is of course the oldest form of education. Anything you learn in life will benefit you in some way (of course if it’s something positive otherwise learning negative things will only cause you harm). I have an uncle who studied to be a teacher and his father used to do glasswork-making glass frames for people and so on. So this uncle always used to help his father out and he learnt how to do things himself. Today he does not work as a teacher but does glass work himself and he has done much better in this field. So you see, education is not limited to what we learn at university or at school. Education is limitless; it goes beyond the walls of an institution. It can be gained in many different places and through different means and you never know what part of your education will benefit you.

I’m not saying that people should not go to university. I think my life would be very different if I didn’t go to university. University has taught me many things, but there are lessons outside the classroom as well and sometimes these lessons are much more valuable than the one’s you learn inside the classroom.

I still find it unfortunate that so many people who are longing to study to have a better life have not gained access to university this year, but if I could give those young people advice, I would tell them not to fret, because education can be gained in many ways. There will be time to go to university and perhaps next year they’ll be more fortunate to get in, but in the meantime, they should keep their minds open, learn whatever they can learn and strive to continue learning. Every skill you have is an asset and no one can take away from you what you have learnt. For instance, there are women who have spent their lives making money through cooking and baking. There are people who make a living through doing and making many things. This is education as well, the knowledge of how to do things like cook and bake, fix a car, make a frame or furniture, etc...should not be undermined. It may not have the prestige that comes with careers such as law, medicine or economics, but it is education and takes a huge amount of intelligence as well.  

So in short, what I am saying is that every single person has a right to education. Knowledge should be an ongoing quest. BUT...

Education should not be restricted to the walls of a university. There are many people who never go to university but their knowledge is astounding (the example of Sheikh Ahmed Deedat comes to mind here. This amazing man had no formal education, and yet his knowledge and achievements are amazing-

May Allah give Him Peace and allow him to rest in the highest stages of Jannah Inshaa-Allah).

We should not wait for others to fulfil our rights and we should not hold others responsible for our destinies. We have the ability to learn what we can, and like I said, every bit of knowledge can benefit you in some way. So let us all seek knowledge and increase our education in whatever way we can, even if that means doing tasks that others may regard as menial.   

Image 1 from here
Image 2 from here

An educated Muslim woman?

I had a strange encounter last week which got me thinking about things. As I was walking towards our weekly ladies workshop session with a box of savoury goodies (it was almost tea time), a man who was sweeping stopped me and asked what was in the boxes. I explained to him that it was snacks for the ladies in our workshop. The exchange between us was short and simple, to the point, a common, everyday encounter. Then as I was walking away he asked me an odd question. “How come you speak English so well?” I looked at the man very confused because as a South African citizen, English is my first language. Although there are 11 official languages, I unfortunately only speak 2 of them, the other being Afrikaans. So I mumbled some stupid response like, “uhm, English is my home language, I’m from South Africa”, thinking that maybe the man thought I was from another country because I am Muslim. But, then he said, “well, you must be very educated”.

Okay, so how did he come to that conclusion from our simple exchange, really the reply I gave him was simple, I did not use complicated words or anything like that, and most Muslim women I know, whether they are educated or not speak English the same as I do. This got me thinking, what do people really think when it comes to Muslim women and education. Do they think that we lack knowledge and that we are not even able to have a simple everyday conversation? Perhaps this was not the case with the man in question, if I had more time I probably would have asked him what his reasoning was and so on. Generally though, what do people really think about Muslim women and is it that strange to see a Muslim woman who is educated?

It seems to me that people have the wrong idea about education, at least here in South Africa that is the case within the Muslim community. There’s a clear divide between what is called “secular” education and “religious” education which never quite made sense to me since all knowledge comes from Allah. But this divide goes back to the way in which people treat education. You see, for many people, education is equated with monetary gain, a formal job, the corporate persona and so on. So it’s strange to see a Muslim women, dressed in hijab and a cloak, working in the community, who is educated, because it’s more common for university graduates to be out in the workplace, fitting in with the modern, urban lifestyle.

Maybe this is why so many Muslims regard education as something that is not for Muslim women. Perhaps people believe that religion and formal education cannot go together. Of course at this point I’m thinking about how unnecessary and utterly absurd all of this is. I mean, in the time of the Prophet (SAW) women were extremely educated and yet they were the perfect Muslim female role models as well. Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) had knowledge in all areas, her knowledge was not restricted to what is regarded today as “religious knowledge”. The same applied to the Prophet’s daughter Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her) and in fact with many of the women of that time. Yet, today it’s strange to find an educated Muslim woman who wants to strive to excel in her formal studies and at the same time wants to strive to be the best Muslimah that she can be.

Alhamdulila, this complete split between what is regarded strictly as religious knowledge and all other knowledge is slowly beginning to change and there are many people, especially young Muslim women who are realizing that they can be educated and still use that education to enhance their own lives as well as the general Muslim community. Hopefully soon the idea of having an educated Muslim woman will cease to be something strange and come to be accepted as a norm.

Image from:  www.umassd.edu/charlton/birc/academic.jpg