Soumaya El Haffari, 14, Rabat

The Woman Who Never Gave Up

Since the beginning of time, all over the world, women have been an essential element in all kinds of domains, whether social, religious, political or scientific. Women have an effect on everyone’s lives. She can be the darling wife, the perfect mother, the sincere sister or the best friend. A woman is an important person in each house as she has a great impact on people, on their personalities, characters, attitudes and beliefs. For me, the woman who had an impact on my life was my mother. She raised me in, what I consider to be, a perfect way, although she was not educated. One might say that there are a thousand uneducated women who raised their children properly. But this is a different case.

My mom did not have an easy childhood. She was denied many things, most importantly, the right to go to school. My grandparents had a wrong belief, they thought that girls should just stay at home, help in the kitchen, clean, cook and do chores. While her brothers went to school, my mom was forced to stay behind. She did not agree with this thinking, so she used to take her brothers’ pens and papers to try and teach herself to write and read. However, she found this quite difficult and instead started drawing what she loved most: clothes. She promised herself that one day, when she will grow up, she would study and follow her dream to become a fashion designer.

One day, she got the opportunity to leave her small town and move to a big city. There she started going to school, even though she had become an adult. She had to raise her young children and study at the same time. She stayed up late and did her best, all while caring for my siblings and me. After she finished her studies, she went a step further on the way to achieve her dream. So, 67

she got into the world of fashion. First, she started with a small business. A place where she designed traditional clothes with a modern touch. At this time, she had only three employees, which were women who also went through the same childhood. She made it her goal to help others as she advanced in life. After a few years, she was able to expand her business and she became a well-known designer in her area, with dozens of employees. Although she succeeded, she never forgot her home town. She made it her purpose to raise awareness of the fact that girls should also go to school, that it is their right, and that the idea that girls should remain home is wrong. She started by establishing a school for illiterate women where they could study for free. Then, she invested much of her time, going house by house and talking to the people in the rural area where she grew up about the importance of schooling, especially those people who believed that girls should not study. She also donated money to the community to provide children with schoolbags, books and supplies as well as bikes for those who live far from school. In the end, she managed to convince many families that girls and boys should be treated equally.

The way my mother lived and tried to save poor girls from illiteracy, had a great impact on my view of life. She raised me to respect everyone equally and to be fair to all people, whether male or female, and no matter who they are or where they come from. Color, background, social status and most importantly gender, do not mean anything, she made me realize that what matters is the soul and mind. A quote that reminds me of my mom’s story is as follows: “It’s your decisions and not your conditions that determine your destiny” -Robbins. So, it does not matter where you come from, who your parents are or how much money you have, it does not matter whether you are a boy or a girl. If you put a purpose in mind, you will achieve your dreams, just like my mom did. She truly is my role-model and one day I hope to be as successful as she is now. She taught me many things for which I will always be grateful. She taught me to be

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respectful, honest, tolerant, empathetic, confident and hardworking. Having these qualities is what made her who she is today and I aspire to be like her when grow

up.

To conclude, all women who try to be successful, who set a goal in their mind, can achieve it, no matter what society might say about women being the “weaker” gender. They can be strong as long as they do not give up and follow their dreams. They have to work hard, stay positive, but never forget to stay kind and help others. My mother is one of the women who actually took a chance and made a change. She helps me see the potential in me and this will certainly help me become a better person. She is my source of inspiration.

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