Page 437 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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For various reasons no exhibition of needlework was held during the year. The strikes
in the Spring and Autumn caused the loss of much time and affected the amount of work which
was done. The girls of the Secondary School went on strike in sympathy with Egypt during the
Suez crisis and consequently the school was closed for a week. It was re-opened when the
parents of the girls each gave a personal assurance that in future their daughters would not take
part in political manifestations. One girl was dismissed for organising the strike, she was the
sister of one Bedria Khalfan who led processions through Manama and then went to Egypt
from where she frequently addressed the women of Bahrain, by radio, urging them to create
disturbances.
The liking for needlework and embroidery is lessening and this kind of work is going out of
fashion which is to be regretted as in the past it provided useful occupation for many of the girls
when they left school. In the Secondary School, however, lessons in dressmaking proved
popular and many of the girls made dresses for themselves very satisfactorily. Almost all the
girls in the schools now wear Western dress under the black abbas which they put on when
walking in the streets.
Five girls sat for the final secondary examination and all of them passed ; three were sent
for higher education to the British Syrian Lebanese Training College in Beirut where they are
reported to be making good progress. One of the two who passed who was not sent abroad
was a foreigner, the other was not permitted by her parents to go outside Bahrain. It is
intended that these girls will become teachers when they return.
One girl from Bahrain is at the British Syrian Training College and another is at school in
Brighton hoping to qualify for entrance into a medical school and eventually to become a
woman doctor but competition is severe and educational requirements are high so it is doubtful
whether she will achieve her object. It would be very valuable for Bahrain to have a woman
doctor belonging to the country. The teaching language in all the Bahrain schools is still
Arabic and it is difficult for students to learn when they first go to schools abroad where the
teaching language is English.
At the beginning of the Autumn term Mrs. Nair, for many years the Inspectress of girls
schools, was promoted to Assistant Directress, the headmistress of one of the girls schools was
appointed as Secretary to the Directress.
At the end of 1956 there were 3,953 girls attending 13 schools. The staff consisted of 135
teachers of whom 94 were from Bahrain and 41 from abroad, the foreigners included Lebanese,
Syrians, Palestinians, one Egyptian and two Indians.