Emancipation – her name was Ayesha

A birthday tribute to Ayesha Rauf, the pioneer Principal of Muslim Ladies College:

Ayesha Rauf was the daughter of Mayen Devan of Kannanore, Kerala and was born on June 7, 1914. She was the first Muslim graduate from Malabar State to pass out from the Madras University. She obtained her Licentiate from the Postgraduate Training School in Madras and was appointed Special Officer for Muslim Women’s Education in the State.

She would tell us about the hazardous trips she made by boat to visit some of these Schools. In 1943, she married M.S. M. Rauf, a Ceylonese doing business in Coimbatore and migrated to Ceylon a year later.

Her first appointment was at the Government Girls College, Maradana. But prior to completion of three months, Ayesha Rauf was approached by prominent politician Sir Razik Fareed to open an English medium Girls School for the Muslim community. She accepted the offer, resigned from her post and took charge of Muslim Ladies College as the Founder Principal on November 1, 1946.

Emancipation of Muslim girls

When the school commenced there was only one qualified teacher beside Ayesha Rauf. She was the first Principal of the School and during her 25 years of service at Muslim Ladies College, laid the foundation for education and emancipation of Muslim Girls. During earlier years of the School, Mrs Rauf’s great task was to stress the importance of education to the less privileged. With her gentle charm and unruffled manner, she nurtured and cared for her students, especially from those poorer homes.

To her Staff she was a friend, counsellor and advisor. We admired her varied interests. As a politician she was an eloquent speaker in English and represented the Pettah ward at the Colombo Municipal Council. In 1952, she was appointed Deputy Mayor and was the first woman to hold this post.

Warm and generous

When she retired in 1971, the school had expanded to accommodate over 1000 students. Many of her students had already graduated and many others were employed in the banking, mercantile and teaching professions. In 1991, a few months before death, she was proud to see her old pupil – Mrs Kareema Gaffoor return, as Principal of the School.

After her retirement, we kept close contact with her, and looked forward to the reunion meetings on the 7th of June- her birthday. She was a warm and generous hostess. The idea of Retired Teachers Association was mooted at one of the meetings and the group met regularly at her home. She had become our close friend and confidant.

It is a tribute to her that the RTA continues and though the venue has changed we meet at least once a year on 7th of June – our Founder’s Day.

Mrs. Ayesha Rauf has impressed and influenced generations of students and teachers alike. She was gracious, elegant, soft spoken and caring, and though petite, had strong and determined views on the need to educate Muslim Girls. Her task of laying the educational foundation of Muslim Ladies College was successfully accomplished and enabled her successors to build on it and make MLC a premier School. To all of us, she was the ideal emancipated Asian Woman.

-Written by the Retired Teachers
Association of Muslim
Ladies College, Colombo 4