Education, Education, Education!

My afternoon play dates would usually end abruptly with Aisha going back to her chores, and myself to mines. Only difference: my chores consisted of the homework of a nine years old pupil, and Aisha’s of a ten years old worker who spent her days cleaning the floors and doing the dishes. To me, and to many others, that was normal. That was her life and that was the choice of her parents. Two decades ago, Aisha’s duty was to work to sustain her six other brothers and sisters and her parents. Today, she is still working as a housekeeper providing for her husband and five children: not her choice then; not her choice now either.

I admit it. I don’t have a success story here, nor do I have a personal compelling account. What I have though is the firm belief, that if Aisha was given the right to learn, she would have had a better life.

Maybe.

If Aisha was given the chance to go to school, she would have taken the decision to have two kids instead of five.

Probably.

If Aisha was given the choice to get an education, she would have chosen differently.

Definitely.

These shameful practices are common in Morocco, as they are in Bangladesh, Egypt, Lebanon or Ethiopia, and in many other parts of the world. To this date, young girls are used as a source of income. They are usually sent to the city to work in factories or as maids. “Les petites bonnes”, literally translated from French as “little maids” are denied the right to education, the right to play, the right to choose. I tend to blame the ills of the entire African continent, and those of the Arab world on illiteracy.

I don’t have a story here. I am just starting, and I am eager to learn from the united women of World Pulse. I am keen to read and learn from your experiences. United we will stand to get girls an education. Together we will work to give women the right to choose. Always we will be here to guide and mentor each other. That’s what I expect from World Pulse and that’s what I want to give back to World Pulse.

You probably know the expression “Location, location, location.” And you probably know why it is the mantra of businessmen around the globe. So, if location can help determine how successful a business may become, education is definitely the one agent to determine the success of a person, the well-being of a community, and the development of a nation.

And so United Women of World Pulse, please repeat after me: Education, education, education!