Photo: Courtesy
Published date: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 8:25 AM
[Editor’s Note: This is the third of a 4-part weekly series ahead of Emirati Women’s Day.]
For over 30 years, the Rewaq Usha Bint Hussein Cultural and Educational Centre has held a high position in UAE society as a beacon of education and knowledge. From IT and medical coding to Arabic and the Quran, the institute has provided quality training to thousands of people from various professions.
For its founder, Dr. Musa Obaid Ghubash Al Muhairis, the institute is a lasting tribute to the most important woman in her life, her mother, Usha bint Hussein bin Nasser Lootah.
KT Photo: Muhammad Sajjad
“She was a very influential and strong personality,” Dr Muzza told Khaleej Times. “Our house was always bustling with guests coming to hear her opinion on business and personal matters. She was well-informed on all matters, including politics. During the Egyptian revolution in the 1950s, she listened to the radio news every day to stay updated on the latest happenings. She quietly worked on many charitable causes. She was also a prolific poet. She was a very talented person.”
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Usha bint Hussein was one of the first formally educated women in UAE society and was in many ways a pioneer: she didn’t just absorb knowledge but also spread it to those around her.
Entrepreneurship
Dr Muzah credits her grandparents with ensuring her mother’s education. “My father was a pearl and gold trader and travelled a lot, especially to India,” she says. “My grandmother could read the Quran, which was rare at the time. My grandparents decided that my mother, who was born in 1943, needed a formal education, so they brought in sheikhs (teachers) from Saudi Arabia who taught her the Quran, Arabic, literature, poetry, history and mathematics.”
After her marriage, Ousha founded a real estate company, becoming one of the industry’s first female entrepreneurs. “She brought in her friends, Sheikha Rafea and Sheikha Sana, as partners to start the company,” Dr. Mousa said. “Her friends didn’t even know how to sign, so it was my mother who taught them.”
It was only after the integration of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971 that formal schools began in the country. “At that time, even older women started attending school in the afternoon to complete their primary and secondary education,” Dr Mousa said.
Lifelong Education
For Dr. Muza, one of her earliest memories is her mother encouraging her and her siblings to study. As a result, four of her six siblings have earned doctorates and held prestigious positions in various government and private organizations. “I have a PhD in sociology,” she says. “My brother studied history, my sister studied psychiatry, and my other brother studied political science. On top of that, we are both very prolific writers. I have published 10 books on social issues, our culture and identity, and our Emirati traditions.”
KT Photo: Muhammad Sajjad
After graduating, Dr. Mousa went to Kuwait to complete her bachelor’s degree, before spending a year in Washington to perfect her English. “I then spent seven years in Cairo, completing my master’s and doctorate,” she says. “I returned to the UAE in 1987 and took up a professorship at the UAE University in Al Ain, where I taught social theory and Emirati literature for over 30 years.”
She said her mother encouraged them to build their own bookshelves from an early age. “Books were not easy to come by back then,” she said. “So whenever my brothers traveled to Syria or Iraq, they would bring back piles of books, which we devoured. We also gave books to anyone who wanted to read. My mother pushed us to expand our knowledge in every way possible.”
Premature death
But Usha’s untimely death in 1992 shook Dr Mousa’s life. “For weeks, I couldn’t even think straight,” she says. “I cried the whole time. After a month, I decided I had to stop crying and do something to fulfil my mother’s wishes.”
That’s how she came up with the idea to set up an educational institute. “I couldn’t think of a better fit, as she was always a champion of education,” she says. Since its inception, the charitable cultural center has been offering free classes and carrying out charitable activities in the society. It has also promoted some unique campaigns, such as the “Best Mother” award, which asks students to nominate their mothers and write about their sacrifices.
KT Photo: Muhammad Sajjad
In 2016, the Institute received an endowment of more than AED 37 million in assets to continue its exemplary work in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Fund Consultancy Centre (MBRGCEC) to promote awareness of the importance of supporting culture in the UAE.
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