Teachers convince parents of 45 girls to send them to school in Turkey’s southeast

BATMAN

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Thirteen high school teachers have traveled around villages in the southeastern province of Batman to convince the parents of a total of 45 girls to send their offspring to school. 

The teachers traveled to villages in the Gercüş district of the province for three years in order to persuade parents to make their girls continue their high school education, Anadolu Agency reported on Nov. 24.

The teachers, with the support of the principal of the high school, Abdurrahman Alan, raised the total number of female students in the school from 35 to 80. The number of female students has now reached the same number as male students. 

“We are trying to persuade the parents to send their girls to schools,” said English teacher Fethiye Akdağ from the Black Sea province of Samsun, adding that the students “were happy to be receiving an education and working for their dreams.”

“The parents who previously thought that girls don’t need to receive education are now more conscious,” she said. 

The teachers visited the Doruk, Gökçe, Tepecik, Ardıçlı, Yayladüzü, Eymir, Bağlıca, Taşcı and Yenice villages in the district and told the parents that girls deserve to receive education as equal to boys.

“Male students can find jobs and can have professions, but unfortunately girls don’t have that opportunity,” Akdağ told Anadolu Agency, noting that she gave great importance to education of girls.

“The visits of parents to the school are very significant. We are having one-on-one meetings with the students in addition to the parents. With our efforts, the number of boys in the school equals girls,” she said. 

Sevda Alev, one of the students whose parents were convinced said they were against her high school education, said she was receiving education thanks to her teachers.

“My parents said, ‘What are you going to do when you go to school?’ My teachers came to our house, talked to them and now I’m receiving education,” Alev said, adding that her aim was to pass the university exam and enroll in Bosphorus University. 

“Here the people generally say, ‘It is a shame for the girls to go to schools.’ The girls are forced to get married,” she also said. 

Addressing her peers, Alev said they could achieve whatever they want if they wanted to do so. 

“As long as you want it and study, you can achieve anything you want,” she said. 

Another student whose parents were convinced, Hanife Ersöz, said she wanted to become a policewoman. 

“I went beyond the family obstacle to become a policewoman. I absolutely support the education of girls and want it,” Ersöz said.