Kubra Maharramova writes...
You probably know an elderly People's Writer who often makes headlines with his statements. This is about Kamal Abdulla, who spent a third of his life as a rector. He was rector of Baku Slavic University for 14 years, and since 2017 he has been rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages. He has been involved in Azerbaijan's education system for decades. Good or bad, students and colleagues know better.
Moreover, Kamal Abdulla is a People's Writer. He is the author of many literary works, about 300 articles, over 20 textbooks and monographs. In short, he has been and still is productive.
Let me also note that Kamal Abdulla was the winner of the "Best Rector of the 2018-2019 Academic Year" student survey.
I am sure the survey was conducted in a fully transparent manner.
Recently, in an interview, this People's Writer said: "It is better for a woman to stay at home and take care of her children and family. I think so. If there are women who, due to special talent, emerge and show themselves in certain circles, that is a different matter. But if we direct our efforts to keeping women at home in the kitchen taking care of children, I think it could bring more benefit to Azerbaijani society."
So it turns out that for Kamal Abdulla, who spent much of his life in high positions at universities, girls' education was formal or hypocritical.
Female students studying on a paid basis were only needed to fill the cash register.
If he truly stood by his opinion, he would propose that girls with low scores not be admitted to universities. We don't need their payment either. Let those low-educated girls' exams not be solved by envelopes or money. We don't need any of that.
Now you will ask: do you have proof that exams are written for money at universities? Of course not. But it's like seawater being salty. Everyone knows that to find out seawater is salty, you don't need to drink it all. In short, Kamal Abdulla built a career, ate and drank at the expense of female students all his life. Now he says: "It is better for a woman to stay at home and take care of her children and family."
Another point caught my attention in the interview. These views not only reflect his attitude to the role of women in society but also reveal his overall view of university-student relations. The rector added: "When I go out into the university corridor, I don't tell anyone to remove students from that area," and presents this as a special example of tolerance. However, the student is the main subject of the university, and their presence in that space should not be presented as someone's favor. This approach indicates the persistence of old hierarchical attitudes in university management.
Perhaps Mr. Rector thinks that serfdom is still in effect. The rector is the khan, and the students are subjects. But Rector Kamal Abdulla, out of the generosity of his heart and extraordinary kindness, treats the subjects well.
How good that today our young people are turning to education abroad. How good that both girls and boys are getting to know the world and getting quality education. How good that the new generation surpasses the old.
I must note that Kamal Abdulla was born on December 4, 1950, in Baku into an intellectual family. His father was a teacher, his mother a doctor. I expected a speech from our 76-year-old intellectual that would encourage our girls to contribute more to education and the development of our country. Let him cite his mother as an example: back then, Azerbaijani women were already doctors. They studied under difficult conditions, etc.
It seems wisdom does not always come with age. Or never comes.
But Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, who could not read or write and was not the author of 300 articles and 20 textbooks, under the most difficult conditions of his time, opened the first secular girls' school in the Muslim East. He encouraged Azerbaijani Muslim girls to learn and gain knowledge.
Incidentally, a four-part film "Taghiyev" has been made in Azerbaijan. The executive producer is Azerbaijani woman Arzu Aliyeva.
She immortalized the legacy of Taghiyev, a literate, knowledgeable, controversial yet famous and beloved figure in Azerbaijani history. She conveyed Taghiyev's story to the world.
A century ago, Taghiyev fought for girls to go to school. Today, some of our intellectuals are trying to limit women's place to home again. That is regrettable.
