Muslims believe that the first word revealed to the prophet Mohammed was read. Because he was illiterate, Mohammed memorized every verse revealed to him and recited them for his followers to share with others.
“In our religion, if you learn something, it’s very important to pass it on,” says Emine Yüzay.
On a warm April afternoon in Istanbul, Yüzay lives up to that virtue. Three years after learning to read and write through a Rotarian-sponsored concentrated language encounter (CLE) program, the 21-year-old is teaching a class for local women who can’t attend traditional courses.
Yüzay’s students giggle like teenagers with spring fever, an unexpected contradiction to their conservative appearance. A lace tablecloth hides the worn, wooden table where they work. “Is – tan – bul,” says Yüzay. The group repeats after her in unison, carefully writing the word in pencil, syllable by syllable.
“I think [my students] think that if I can do it, so can they,” she explains. Born without arms, Yüzay graduated the CLE program by learning to write the same way she does everything – with her toes.
Because of her disability, Yüzay sits in the middle of the table to direct the group. This afternoon, six women – mostly homemakers in their 30s and 40s – come to class. Yüzay nods in encouragement as they write the words she pronounces. She’s quiet until she catches a mistake. Then Yüzay springs into action, extending her foot and rewriting the word with perfect penmanship.
“I want other women to be educated, not to be oppressed or confused when they go out,” Yüzay says. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, only 81 percent of Turkish women over age 15 are literate, compared with 96 percent of men. That percentage drops significantly on the outskirts of cities and in rural areas, often because men still believe women don’t need an education, or because some families lack access to free primary school education.
Yüzay was illiterate until three years ago. While her nine brothers and sisters attended primary school, Yüzay’s parents kept her home, worrying that she would be teased or misunderstood because of her disability. For the first 18 years of her life, Emine Yüzay never left the house alone.
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