The Yemeni community in the United States is unique and quite diverse. Cities with the highest concentration of Yemeni inhabitants include Dearborn, MI, Chicago IL, and New York City, NY. Although the Yemeni community is made up of people with diverse experiences and backgrounds the challenge of women’s education is something that many in these communities struggle with. This article will explore the views of two professional Yemeni women living in New York City on this issue. Not only do these women share insight about the thinking of the community but also their struggle to overcome this thinking in their everyday endeavors. Sylvia Haider, a 28-year old third year student at New York University, currently works at an international investment bank. Her duties involve the allocation of 150 million dollars of revenue both inside and outside of the firm. Growing up Sylvia found her greatest inspiration in her mom. She recalls how her mom stood up for herself at a time when such a thing was unheard of. Her mom’s ability and courage to do what was best for her daughters without any support is what enabled Sylvia to believe she can accomplish her goals. Magidah Al-Audi is a 30-year old Research Assistant at the NYU Langone Medical Center with a M.S. in Molecular and Cellular biology. There she is in charge of supervising the research of medical students as well as doing her own research in melanoma and cell pigmentation. Most of her experience is in cancer protein and its function. She is currently exploring possible ways of preventing cancer protein from activating itself in the cell and making sure normal cellular protein is activated. Similar to Sylvia, Magidah praises her mother as the most inspirational person in her life. It was her mother’s dedication to her children ‘s education, especially her support for her daughters in the face of community disapproval, that has had a lasting impact on her life. To many people in the United States the idea of parents supporting their children’s education is a no-brainer. Here in the land of opportunity, where the whole world converges for knowledge, many Yemeni women are still being deprived of their right to attain a higher education. In reflecting upon their pursuit of a higher education and career, both Sylvia and Magida believe that their experiences greatly differ from other women. Sylvia finds that other Muslim communities like the South Asian or Palestinian, for example, value education much more regardless of the family’s cultural or religious outlook, whether they are conservative, liberal or traditional. Hence women from these and other ethnic communities, she feels, take the notion of a higher education and the support they receive from their parents and communities for granted. In contrast Yemeni women who find themselves able and supported in such pursuits are extremely grateful for it, knowing that some of their Yemeni sisters will not have such opportunities. Magidah, as well has dealt with the backlash in her own community for the simple fact that she has pursued her education and has taken up a professional career. She, however, has found the support of her family almost crucial to her success, although she jokes “I would have pushed for it anyway because of my strong personality”. Compared to other Yemeni women of their own age, both women have found that there is a significant difference in their lives. For instance, Sylvia feels that professional women in our community are put to a higher standard, their religiosity is questioned and sometimes, even their loyalty to cultural values. Comparing married, Yemeni mothers who stay home with single Yemeni women who are pursuing their careers, she points out that women staying home to raise children have an emotional and moral responsibility in the outcome of their children and households, whereas a single, professional woman does not carry such a burden. The worst that can happen if she fails to meet her work obligations is that she’ll be fired. She also finds it bothersome explaining and justifying her choices to other Yemeni women who’ ve questioned her lifestyle, but at the same time feels that she shouldn’t have to explain or justify it at all. She feels that a lot of women are held back in our community because they are pigeon-holed into playing one role – staying home. What’s missing in our community, she believes is the willingness to allow women to pursue their options and support them in those choices. Magidah laments that in the past many girls in her community were not allowed to continue their education beyond junior high school and hence the girls she has grown up with have led very different lives. Again, she credits this to the difference in opinion regarding women and education and to the difference in support between her parents and theirs. Further, Magidah believes that the greatest challenge Yemeni women face in their pursuit of a higher education, in her opinion, is their parents. Depending on what part of Yemen they come from, there are parents who actually prevent their daughters from completing their education simply because of the disapproval of their clan or the community they live in. Sylvia, however, contends that it is cultural baggage. It is the idea that if you get educated you will not get married - an inverse relationship between marriage and education. Young women think they have to choose one over the other. It is this idea that a woman’s success in the community is measured by her ability to raise a family and keep a husband. While men’s success is not hindered by women, women’s success is hindered by men or a lack thereof. Educated men can marry an educated or non-educated woman. Yet in our community, educated women can only see themselves getting married to educated men, which is an important issue given that problem with education is not limited to just women, many young men are also discouraged from going to college to take over family businesses and end up marrying soon after - with compiling family and marital obligations, the dream of a college education drifts further and further away. Solutions to these problems are varied and plenty. However, these two professional women both agree that there needs to be more support from those who have been through such pressures and excelled. That is, it is the duty and responsibility of educated and professional Yemeni women in the community to help relieve this problem. Sylvia wishes that our community can better benefit from one another and be able to share the benefits of their education to help develop the community. Additionally, our community needs to understand that education does not mean a complete rejection of our culture or moral values. If anything, girls are more likely to build on the values they are taught and will develop valuable analytical thinking skills that can benefit entire families. Sylvia further states that if she were to change her values, she would have done so regardless of being pulled out of school or not. She believes that girls have an innate progression towards culture or against it and whether or not they are pulled out of school, those feelings would still be a part of her. She goes on to stress that an education can only empower a young woman and give her an enhanced understanding of her own culture in a way that is in and of itself, empowering. Both women do admit that the Yemeni community has come a long way. More and more Yemeni girls are going to school and pursuing careers. Both women hope to see this continue and within the next ten years they believe that we can expect a greater number of Yemeni-American professionals entering all sectors of the labor market - from international organizations to Wall Street to hospitals. Also in ten years, Sylvia expects to have completed her graduate education and sees herself with her own business. Magidah expects to have completed medical school and be actively pursuing her research. She hopes to work towards a cure for gynecological cancers and diseases that especially affect women in third world countries. Although much of this article is based on the opinions of the author and the women interviewed, it is conceivable to anyone who analyzes the Yemeni community in the United States that such opinions are not without merit; one of the difficulties in resolving the issue though lies in the fact that the number of organizations that directly support these communities, particularly in education, are very few. It is my analysis that more needs to be done within the community if change will occur. For the past several years, a slow and steady change has been brewing in the number of Yemeni women attaining an education, however this number does not even begin to compare to those of women from other Muslim communities. Will we one day see the percentages of Yemeni women in colleges and universities compare to those of the South Asian community? Only time will tell. |
| A Yemeni Woman’s Perspective on Education |
| Hanna Omar |
special project for the United Nations Development Group. She is also a board member of the American Association of Yemeni Scientists and Professionals and a senior Political Analyst for Americans for an Informed Democracy. |
| Send your comments and questions regarding this article to: educationmatters@amaany.org |
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| Photo Credits: SOUL, IREX, USAID |
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