Women’s Political Representation in Kuwait, Essay Example

Background

My name is Bashayer, which means “happy news” in Arabic. I’m from small country in Middle East called Kuwait which means “the fortress built near water” (Hill, 2014). I was born during the year that the Kuwait Tower opened, which is a symbol of the Kuwaiti family. Families were expected to be modest, religious, and traditional. This whole decade was considered to be the end of the golden age in Kuwait. During this time, the country was building its expertise in many fields compared to other Middle Eastern and Gulf countries. While we were once known for being great in soccer, our successes had diminished. In addition, the education system was failing. However, the media was still successful. Artists, singers, directors, and others were looked to Kuwait to build their careers and work towards their intent to become famous.

Kuwait was considered a welcoming home for all field force workers who were looking for a better life. It was the most democratic country in the Middle East, according to the opinions of individuals in foreign counties. Here, women had the right to become pioneers and work in different sectors. Women could become lawyers, teachers, doctors, professors, and even patrol officers. However, women were not allowed to be government officials in Kuwait until 2005 (Shalaby, 2015). This move gave Kuwaiti women a greater inspiration to achieve a higher level of education.

Childhood

I was born into a big family where most of my family members are female. I am the second female child in the family, which would lead many people to expect that I speak out to gain attention, but this is not the case. I am a quiet girl who prefers to listen to people’s experiences more than talking about myself. However, this gave me the power to strongly assert my opinions. I attempted to distinguish myself from my sisters by following my father’s path. He is educated, intellectual, and wise. I have always been able to rely on his knowledge to make important decisions.

I have been enrolled in public school all my life. I had the opportunity to engage in the first English-based curriculum while in middle school, which was an exciting opportunity presented by the Education Ministry. However, this was a challenging experience as well because I didn’t enjoy this new language until I went to high school. My father is fluent in English, which inspired me to learn the language better than him. Overall, I was a student who earned A’s and B’s and wouldn’t accept less.  It is this drive that pushed me forward to understand what I wanted to do for a living and to achieve my future goals.

Career

Kuwait’s high school programs allow for concentration in either literature or science methods. The literature major included studies of Islamic, Arabic, and English, and the science major included studies of math and various sciences. At the time, I was not certain of my passion, so I enrolled in science methods as my high school major, which would have allowed me more options for college, provided that I earned an appropriate GPA. My father gave me this advice, even though he usually allows his family to make their own decisions.

After graduating from high school, I chose to enroll in Education College. My passion at that time was to enter the field of IT engineering. However, my best friend influenced me to change my plans and I found my self in the early childhood education field. Here, I found myself delving deeply into my coursework in addition to a love for learning about children at every stage of life. This love made me promise myself that I would continue my education at a higher level.

I graduated with a high GPA, and entered into a teaching position immediately. I worked as a teaching assistant, but the primary classroom teacher had to leave the school on the first school day because she giving birth. This put me in charge of the classroom for two months. During this time, I proved to the principal that I’m a good teacher and I know how to work well with kids and she was thankful for my ability to step in as the primary teacher. This expertise was valuable because it allowed me to gain skills that I would not have earned as a teacher’s assistant.

I continued my success in kindergarten, but I wasn’t completely satisfied. Because of the bureaucratic system, the lack of description of duties, lack of appreciation, bias in the selection system for teaching training courses, and a long queue on waiting for the next promotion due to the lack of a vacant place, I decided that I needed to leave this setting. Most importantly, however, I felt restricted as to what I could accomplish with my students and did not wish to act as a robot, following the rules of the district. At this time, I decided that I needed to take a step forward. Thus, I enrolled in the master’s program at Kuwait University as a part time student. It was hard for me to balance my responsibilities as a student, a teacher, and a mother, but this taught me to think differently and simply. This is an attitude I continue to apply to my practices today, and an important part of why I believe that I am able to remain successful and positive in the light of change.

Scholarship

Getting a scholarship was not as easy as I thought it would be. There was a lot of preparation I had to take it this preparation, including getting the IELTS score, which was the first hurdle in my scholarship dream. But because I have faith, this small challenge was not enough to stop me from accomplishing my goals. Second, this would mean that I would have to convince my husband and children to leave everything in Kuwait and pursue a life in a new country that they had only observed in the movies. Looking for a house, school, and identity in a strange country has not been easy for all of us, especially for my husband, whose roots lie strongly within Kuwait.

I enrolled in language institution as a requirement for my conditional admission at USF. It is took me one year to get acceptance in the master program. Finally, the first day of my master classes came but unfortunately, I didn’t find myself continuing in the field because many of the teachers in the United States complained about the same problems that I had faced in Kuwait. The strict routines, lack of freedom, implementation of new and challenging curriculum, and confusing planning still contributed to troubles within the field. At this point, I knew that it would be necessary for me to start looking in a new direction.

I recognized that I would have to change my major in order to pursue my dream. I have faith that the outcomes will be positive no matter what, but wanted to be certain about what my path truly is. I choose FAU to pursue a PhD in a field that I believed would help me learn my true identity. Here, I know that I am able to apply my unique knowledge and skills to making a true difference in the world. I hope to create new knowledge so that others will benefit from my findings. I remembered my first class in the university when one of the professors us to market ourselves on the first day of class, and I couldn’t find any thing better than to market myself as my own name, “happy news”.

People always see something unique about my personality. I can’t say I don’t know what is it. As a religious person, I believe the changes in my life were meant for my own personal benefit and these changes will also help me bring joy and help to others. I know that my kids will understand someday why I made all of these critical decisions in our life. We will go back to Kuwait and they will see the difference that their mother will make it in their life and their children’s life. Simply, They will know I have a faith that future will always be better than what has come before.

References

Hill, K. (2010). How Did Kuwait Get Its Name, What Does Kuwait Mean In Arabic, and How Did Kuwait Go From Rags to Riches? Retrieved from http://superbeefy.com/how-did-kuwait-get-its-name-what-does-kuwait-mean-in-arabic-and-how-did-kuwait-go-from-rags-to-riches/

Shalaby, M. (2015). Women’s Political Representation in Kuwait: An Untold Story. Retrieved from http://bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/f812567d/WRME-pub-PoliRep-Kuwait-091515.pdf