Friday March 29th, 2024
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Egypt's Smartest Girl Will Not Be Congratulated by The Ministry of Education

Amira Iraqi is being denied national honour because of her father's political background.

Staff Writer

Amira Ibrahim Iraqi, a 17-year-old girl from Daqahliyya, ranked first on the national level among thousands of students receive their secondary school results for the 2015-2016 year this week. She scored 409.5/410, or 99.87 per cent on her examinations. We know some were just hoping for a pass, some knew they'd fail, some are currently hiding in their room, and only few were considered the best. You would think after sweating, crying and bleeding, someone would honour your efforts – especially the nation that educated you, and that you hope to serve. 

The case of Amira, though, is different. Because her intelligence and effort are being deliberately ignored and undermined, because of her father's political affiliations. She is not going to be congratulated by the Minister of Education, a long-life tradition in Egypt, after it became apparent through her name that she is the daughter of a Muslim Brotherhood member, who has been imprisoned to a life sentence in 2014, according to El Watan News

The strange part is that her father is not just a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but also a doctor, who specialised in kidney disease, and who served his nation and its people for many years, regardless of his political ideology. Meanwhile, she also took it upon herself to work hard, regardless of the difficult situation she found herself in three years ago with less support at home.

Even if Amira chooses to sympathise with her dad and his ideology, a nation that truly believes in freedom should encourage the evolvement of the capacity of her mind, and how it can serve this country in its time of crisis, not have her paying the price for others' political ideologies and differences.