Page 320 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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Arab house near the municipal garden which had been hired from the Minors Department. The
house was in the centre of the Shia quarter, soon after the school was opened it contained over 200
girls, most of them from Shia families. Before the new school existed the proportion of Shia girls
at school had been low ; but because the house had belonged to one of the leading Shias in Manama
this community regarded the school as one especially for themselves and in spite of the fact that most
of the teachers were Sunni the Shias gave it strong support. The headmistress was a Bahrain Arab
girl who had been trained at the British Syrian Training College.

All through this year the schools were handicapped by the shortage of books and materials
but the arrival of three new Syrian teachers relieved the difficulties which were due to lack of staff.
During this year an effort was made to standardise the classes in all the schools so that girls in a class
in Muharraq would be learning the same subjects and using the same books as girls in the same
grade in Manama. This was important owing to the habit in Bahrain of families moving from
place to place at the different seasons, well-to-do families being accustomed to'leave Muharraq
in the summer and to spend the hot weather living in barastis onj the outskirts of Manama. Mrs.
Sawaf, who had been the headmistress of the Muharraq School for some years was made an
Inspectress of all the girls’ schools. In spite of the great difficulty in obtaining materials for sewing
of embroidery the sale of work at the annual exhibition produced over Rs. 5,000.

Throughout 1364 (1945) the schools continued to make good progress, most of the girls who
left did so because they were going to be married. One of the best advertisements for the schools
was the fact that with the growth of education among young men, girls with school education were
more sought after as wives than those who were uneducated. Sixteen girls took their school leaving
certificates and of these 12 were taken on as teachers. The problem of permanent service by local
teachers is complicated by the fact that sooner or later they marry and their husbands do not always
allow them to continue teaching, often too this becomes impossible for family reasons. Practically
speaking there are no spinsters in Bahrain ; it is almost unheard of for any Moslem woman, with a
respectable character, not to marry. There are a few well known cases in Bahrain of women of rich
respectable families not having married ; in these cases marriages have not been arranged by parents
or guardians in order to prevent the wealth of the family from passing to another person.
1365 (19461.—No new schools were opened during 1365 (1946) but there was a general increase
in the number of students, especially in Muharraq and Hedd, all the schools were filled and when it
was impossible to accept any more children a large number of applicants had to be turned away.

During the year particular attention was paid to the development of needlework. The standard
of sewing and embroidery has always been high as girls in Bahrain have a natural liking and aptitude
for this type of work which is shared by the youngest children in the junior classes. The purdah
system prevents women from following most outdoor occupations and ability to sew, knit and em­
broider provides not only an occupation but a means of earning money when the girls leave school.
Many old students make useful incomes from sewing in their homes.

At the beginning of the term all needlework, dressmaking and embroidery was put into the
hands of a Syrian needlework headmistress who was provided with a special room in one of the schools
for designing, cutting out and preparing the work for the schools. A needlework teacher was allotted
to each school and one of the Syrian teachers, who specialised in sewing, worked under the needlework
headmistress. Materials were less difficult to obtain than during the previous year and a quantity of
linen, threads, etc., were bought in Cairo through the British Consul. At the annual needlework
show the work which was sold produced Rs. 9,400.

The Rafaa school showed a marked improvement when a Syrian headmistress was put in charge
there, this only became possible when the transport situation improved. Though the local girls in
many cases make good teachers yet their lack of training as teachers makes it difficult for them to
assume the responsibility of organising and superintending a whole school.

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