Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 224
! ! 224 command in their voices. H owever , d espite my desire and my efforts in this direction, I have been unsuccessful. I now assign this task to Shah Sahib and hope that he will give this matter its due attention, even if he has not done so before. It has been brought to my notice that there are some students who have nev er answered questions in class and neither have the teachers demand ed an answer from them. Mere education has no meaning. The Holy Qur’ān has compared it to a donkey. Until there is confidence, ambition and resolution , e ducation is of no use. In order to be successful, one needs a voice which is clear , full of dignity, courageous, and commanding. I hope that the teachers at this institute will focus upon this and inculcate a habit of speaking courageously, promptly, and correctly with in their students. Since I stress on overcoming weaknesses and it is perceived as being strict, some women m ay be pleased at Shah Sahib’s new appointment, believing they will be relieved of my severity. H owever, what they misinterpret as severity was actually in their best interest s. As a child, I read a story of King Henry, who as a child wa s very mischievous. He was sent to be raised in a village. One day , he was brought before a m agistrate and he misbehaved, taking advantage of the fact that he was the heir to the throne. The m agistrate punished him for his poor behavior. When the King died and Henry became the king of the land, he called for the m agistrate. The m agistrate was afraid , unsure of how he would be treated. However, the King called him and said, “ T hat incident left such an impact on me that I would like to appoint you to be the highest - ranking ju dge in my kingdom. Had I not learned to obey the law then, I would not be a k ing today. ” In short , some guidance is painful, however the outcome is good. Women should not feel discouraged over these points but should progress academically , while facing these hardships. Advice to t he Teachers Teachers should make sure that there is harmony amongst the entire student body. I expect that Shah Sahib will pay attention to this. Some girls are clever and intelligent and progress quickly, however when teaching a class it is necessary to ensure that the slow learners progress a s well. The only way this can be done is to ask them more