ABU DHABI —At the age of 81, Wendolyn Gardner still retains vivid memories of her experiences as one of the first woman English teachers to join a government school in Abu Dhabi in the last century. The year was 1968, when girl students were entering secondary education for the first time in the history of the country.
“In those days, girls were not expected to pursue their education. Many were married at the young age of 14. Yet, once in school, these girls were very hard workers,” she reminisced, as she browsed through a large collection of old photographs, notebooks and a 37-year-old register that contains the names of every single student of hers.
The great-grandmother, who makes frequent trips to the city from her residence in England, said despite the many technological and social changes that have occurred over the past 40 years, Abu Dhabi has not lost its peace and charm.
Gardner joined a small bunch of staff at Al Khubairat School as an English language teacher. She then joined Umm Ammar, the first government school to provide secondary education to Emirati women in the early seventies.
“Conditions were tough. There was no AC, no computers, no photocopiers, no telephones, and certainly no mobile phones,” she said.
Despite the lack of equipment and the cultural norms that discouraged girls to pursue higher education, many of Gardner’s students were able to attain degrees in various fields including law, medicine and social sciences and now hold prominent positions in the Emirati society.
“One of my students was married in her mid-teens, but was still determined to succeed academically,” she said.
Dr Hessa Al Otaiba, who was recently appointed one of the first woman ambassadors in the country, was Gradner’s student.
“The Al Otaiba sisters specially stand out in my memory as hardworking and dedicated students. Hessa’s sister, Amina, is currently the Head of Emirates Private School, while another sister Dr Mariam is a distinguished physician in Abu Dhabi,” she said.
Gardner’s involvement in the early development of education of women in the country keeps her tied to the culture and customs of the UAE, as her own life has been marked by the series of cultural transformations that occurred before the unification of the country in 1971.
“Girl students did not have options for university education, and the students I taught in secondary school had to travel to Cairo and Kuwait to receive their university education.
“It was through the efforts of the late President Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan that our school was established. He didn’t want the girls to get married at a young age, and later established Al Ain University and Zayed University,” she said.
Initially, Gardner refused to reveal her full name, insisting to remain in the memory of the country in the same way that her own students remembered her.
“My students only know me as Mrs Gardner,” she said.
Asma Hamid