"laestadian, apostolic, gay, lgbtq, ex-oalc, ex-llc, llc, oalc, bunner" LEARNING TO LIVE FREE: The Right to Education

Thursday, May 08, 2014

The Right to Education

Growing up, Helena Lucia didn't realize a science technology career was an option for a woman.
But on Saturday Lucia, 38, will receive her Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Washington State University Vancouver. She's one of 915 students who will participate at WSU Vancouver's commencement exercises.
Lucia is the recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Student Achievement in recognition of her love of learning, overcoming barriers in pursuit of academic goals, leadership potential and involvement in campus life.

What do you think of when I say "education rights for girls"? Malala Yousafzai, the teenage human rights activist who nearly paid with her life for going to school? The Nigerian schoolgirls, whose kidnappers' name Boko Haram means "Western education is a sin"? 

Please read this article about my friend Helena, a single mother of four who is graduating this Saturday with a degree in Computer Science and launching what promises to be a rewarding career. I am so proud of Helena, and hope every young woman in the newspaper's territory, which is home to so many OALC families, reads this article. While the journalist chose not to mention Helena's upbringing, the biggest obstacle she faced was a cultural inheritance and indoctrination in dependency and self-denial.  (In conservative OALC families like mine, those of us who desired higher education had to go it alone, without emotional or financial support, and often with active disapproval and shunning. The only sanctioned choice was marriage and childbearing. Pretty much like some conservative Muslims in the news!)

I met Helena through this website seven years ago, and it has been a privilege to become her friend and watch her nurture the genderless qualities of courage, curiosity, and imagination, not only for herself but her wonderful children.

May she continue to inspire and support girls seeking an education. And may the kidnapped girls be quickly rescued, reunited with their grieving families, and allowed the self-determination that makes us fully free and human.

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Helena! You go, Girl! All the best to you and your kids. SISU

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  2. What a great story! Congratulations!

    Let's wish that everyone gets opportunitie in personal education, it is a power toward better future for all in the world.

    One case from a conservative movement's community:

    "Children Who Have Limited Right to Learn"

    http://freepathways.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/dance-lesson/

    Wishing, all girls shall have right to school and general skills they wish.

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    1. Thanks for commenting. You might find this thread interesting; it discusses the Pajala school story and whether parents should be able to cherry-pick from a public school curricula.

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  3. Helena, being a single mother studying, working, trying her very best to raise her chldren has to be commended, applauded and she has every right to be proud of herself. But to be compared to Malala Yousafzai or the 250? children kidnapped in Nigeria is a travesty to all those living in fear and with no rights. Come on...no thought was given when this piece was written
    European

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  4. Thanks for weighing in, European. I did in fact give a lot of thought to the piece, and while the differences are stark, if you cannot see *any* similarities in the subordination of women in fundamentalist Islam with that in fundamentalism Laestadianism, yours is a willful blindness. Like your educational systems, European Laestadianism may be more advanced than American (where it is still outrageously common for girls to marry and become mothers while in their teens), but there is much progress yet to be made in both. May I ask if you are a female, and what it cost you to get an education?

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  5. Oh please! Sure, it is great for Helena to get a degree but it has nothing to do with religion! My wife is a nurse and I know many women who have college degrees. Just because a girl chooses to not get an education and instead be a mother and wife really is no ones business. If she ends up unhappy she can only blame herself. I have yet to hear a sermon that a women HAS to get married young and HAS to have many children. I read the article about Helena and it meant nothing to me.....I did not know who Helena Lucia was. Yipee skippy that she is divorced and has children......we all have choices. Good for her for going for her degree and don't get me wrong, I have no issue with her degree. But please don't relate it to having anything to do with OALC.....that is not where Helena was raised.

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    1. Thankful, I appreciate you commenting but please read more closely and you will see that the OALC upbringing mentioned in my post was mine, not Helena's. Hers was discussed in the interview but the writer chose not to report it (I got her permission to share the article). If you know her, you know she was reared in an offshoot of the OALC, hardly dissimilar. So you can take umbrage all you want, but it is disingenuous to pretend that Laestadianism has no impact on women's self-determination and independence. And whether it is spoken from the pulpit or not, there are many ways of enforcing norms that make women like Helena (and apparently your wife) the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps you can ask around about all the cases in which OALC preachers appealed to judges to waive state age requirements so children could marry at age 15? Then ask how many of those child brides wished they had waited to marry, and finished at least high school, maybe college? While you're at it, find out how many remain married to abusive or neglectful husbands because they have no other means of support. Perhaps you don't know because you are incurious, or because you have an investment in not knowing.

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    2. Free, my point is not to argue with you. However, if you have not been to OALC for a number of years, perhaps you are not totally informed. Sure, there are a handful of women that married way to young and that is very unfortunate! But out of the hundreds of OALC couples that I know, I personally do not know anyone that meets the description that you point out above. Are there some? I am sure there are.......however, I do not personally know them. The hundreds of people I know all appear happy and to be flourishing with their marriage and family. Are there trials? ABSOLUTELY! Are there hurdles to jump though and life obstacles to maneuver through? ABSOLUTELY! But overall, there are way more success stories than failures. Human nature is such to focus on the things that are not going well and the negatives that surface. But underneath, there are many families that have been blessed. We need to focus on those blessings more than the negatives even though you and I both know that were there are humans, there are always going to be issues.....regardless of the religion, race, or geographical location.

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  6. I'm sure there are many happy marriages in the OALC. No argument there. Naturally (given the nature of this website), it is their problems with the church that people feel compelled to share with me, and in that respect I may be better informed than someone on the inside, to whom such sharing might suggest indiscretion, a failure of faith, or worse. Like you, I like to focus on the positive in life (it is the spirit of optimism that keeps this site alive, because if no change is possible, why bother). Positivity is not the opposite of addressing injustice, however, wherever we encounter it and integrity demands that we act not just on our own behalf (or our family's or church's), but wherever possible to help bring about a more just and compassionate world. I am enormously encouraged by reports of young OALC women going to college with their family's blessings and support. No doubt it is people like you making the difference. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Your answer was about what I expected..."if you cannot see *any* similarities in the subordination of women in fundamentalist Islam with that in fundamentalism Laestadianism, yours is a willful blindness"....next time give more thought, sorry I cannot see the similarities of the Muslim women I see in the back alleyways sitting on the curb while the me are in town, I see no similarities with honor killing, I do not see the similarity where Malala is shot in the face because she wanted education for women (12 year old) this is primary school, I do not see similarities where some countries they are not allowed to drive, move about without an escort, no I do not see similarities where millions live in fear over the basic human rights that you and anyone in the western world take for granted...I see no similarities of one living under sharia law vs someone living with their old age traditions,...but your answer was as expected of any American for that matter...btw, I work in Muslim countries...and come on...am I female or male...that has nothing to do with my comment "this is a travesty to compare." and education is free...for the most part
    European

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  8. and no grammar police...please... :) euro

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  9. Growing up in the LLC, I heard many comments about women pursuing higher education, and most of them were negative. "What does she think she's going to do with that degree? She's just going to stay at home having kids anyway."

    Or, "How can a Christian mother consider a degree in ... when she can't spend the time away from her kids to take the job, and the people she has to associate with are not the best?"

    Another comment, a man speaking about his wife (before they even had kids, mind you), "If anyone is going to go to school, it's going to be me. She'll have no need for it--she's going to be busy at home."

    Or, "Can you believe it? She just had her baby and she's back in class. What does she think she's going to accomplish? It's just a waste of money because she's going to keep having kids and won't be able to finish anyway."

    Some moms do it anyway, but there aren't many of them. The comments you hear whispered behind their backs are quite disgusting. Misogyny is still alive and well in the good ol' LLC.

    mouseinacorner

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  10. European, while I agree that there is not the overt suppression of women that many Muslims face (no one is being shot it the face). Women in laestadianism still have a lot of barriers when it comes to getting an education. You stated that education is nearly free, my college tuition was 32000 a year, I didn't not have money from my parents to rely on as they had 10 other children to take care of. As a child I was told that I shouldn't go for more than a four year degree because if I did, then I would "feel like I had to use it" rather than take care of my children. Most of the females my age did not get a college degree, choosing instead to work as nurse aides or nannies before getting a "MRS degree" I don't claim to be an expert on Muslim culture but I can tell you that there is no doubt in my mind that laestadianism does not value educated women.

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  11. We choose to live for whatever the reasons are where we live. (not sure if that made sense) I can understand a larger family can in no way (middle class) save money for educating their children after high school. But you choose to live in, I asume the United States, Living there you knew university would cost quite a lot...you probably also knew that by moving you could get a free or almost free masters or PHD, if you didn't, you know now. But if you're paying 32000 you are at MIT or equivalent so study hard and you will be paid well...also "but I can tell you that there is no doubt in my mind that laestadianism does not value educated women" First, that is not a true statement, however it may be the opinion of some...and all I will say is; If your not married, get a man who values housework as much as you...everythings has to go 50/50 when there are two separate people with careers...their out there....find one...it will work....I only have a 4 year degree but that's because I was just too lazy...and now my degree means nothing with experience...and the only thing that bothers me now is I wish I would have thought of that nickname...very positive...my iReport nick is as dark as one can come up with...
    European (what a lame nick)

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  12. I could have moved to get a cheaper education, yes. But at the age of 17, I was a die hard FALCer. With that in mind, leaving the country was strongly discouraged because those who leave that "blessed little flock" and are separated by distance often don't return. The fear of becoming an unbeliever is no small thing. I would love to travel to Europe and around the world some day, and I think I probably will. However I was not brave enough to travel to a new country where I knew no one to get an education. I had about 500 dollars to my name and scholarships that could only be redeemed in the US so an American school seemed like the logical answer. Do I regret my decision? Not yet, and yes I'm am making enough to live comfortably. You say that my statement is not true, perhaps not but I worded it as an opinion, in my mind based on what I have seen it is true. In my high school graduating class I am one of 2 to get a bachelor's degree, another got an associates and the rest only have a high school diploma, no one finds that strange because it is the norm. As for my relationship status, I'm happily in a relationship with a man who respects me and my education and helps with the housework. Ps you can always change your nickname, just let us know.

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