Sreelatha M

Can a single person reach out to so many people, and see them rise to a life of respect, dignity and financial freedom? It may be possible with money, but for an ordinary woman to lead teams on education in many centres for three decades and reach goals and create a template for effective and efficient social engineering is an extraordinary feat.

Nikhath Fathima Sohail heads the MWA Matriculation School in Chennai; she is co-chair of the Academy for Women, and part of several other education-related organisations for Muslim youth and women.

It all started as a student of the Sacred Heart School, which has famous alumni like Jayalalitha, Jayanti Natarajan and Kanimozhi.  As part of NCC, she would join projects related to an orphanage, and that triggered her passion for education and philanthropy.

A classroom of MWA School

She went on to set up five learning centres for children with learning disabilities, heading a school with 1,500 students. "I worked for 30 years for girls and for their social uplift in Tamil Nadu," she says about her work as the co-chair of the Academy for Women under the umbrella of AIH.

The passion to help children and the destitute - a reflection of life as a little young school girl - has lit the lives of hundreds of youths, mostly girls.

Early in her life, she was elected co-chair of the Academy, whose trustees included the Nawab of Arcot and her grandparents, whose families have been close to the Nawab for generations.

Asked if it was easy to gain the position as a woman, she says, "It is never easy. But when you get the opportunity, one wants to empower girls, and to keep the environment women-friendly."

She cites the example of her real estate business, which is a business cum training model. "I identify youth in need of employment, single mothers, widows, and others from the community, often without degrees and cut off from mainstream job entry points. They come for a 20,000 pay package. I train them and find them jobs where their earnings can go up to Rs 30v000 a month.

A celebration at the MWA School

"They learn to use English, and that is an empowering tool for these young men and women," she says.

She plans to turn the MWA School of 1500 students into a ramp-friendly school this year. "We want more differently-abled students in the school, and for that, we have to ramp it well," she says.

The school, which will celebrate its centenary in 2027, gives free education to 20 per cent of the students. The school boasts of an all-round development model giving importance to sports, religion, English language skills, as well as other parts of the state curriculum.

She feels that education has helped the uplift of Muslim women in the state, unlike in other parts of the country.

She attributes this to the Pereyra movement and how the Dravidian culture is very enveloping and inclusive, making citizens prioritise their Tamil identity before anything else. "People have been smart enough in southern India to understand that they have to fight for opportunities. So, Muslims in southern India have been better off than in the north, and their relationship with other communities has also been cordial. There has been a sentiment of live and let live, especially among the Brahmins here. Things are good unless the vitiating and divisive winds from the north do not creep into our state," she says.

Sports Day at the MWA School

Being on the board of the Organisation of Muslim Educational Institutions and associations in all of Tamil Nadu, she has a say in the running of 300 schools affiliated with OMEIAT under it.

An alumnus of the Sacred Heart School, Nikhat was formerly president of its alumni association, SHAA, which had famous persons like J Jayalalitha, Jayanti Natarajan and Kanimozhi as members.

But her biggest contribution is as the lead of the Academy for Women under the AHI. It offers courses for intermediate girls. It covers 180 girls enrolled in courses in counselling, fashion design, and tailoring.

She says the secret of managing social enterprises involving money is not plenty of wealth. You need time, not money. And you need good financial management. With that, you try to create an income rather than merely do charity, she says.

Fancy Dress competition at MWA School

In the training institutes she runs, she applies the same strategy. We get sponsors for our students. We don’t make a profit, but at the same time, we don’t make losses either. I also have to know the market for jobs to succeed, she says.

"There is a huge demand for teachers in psychology. So, girls finishing a one-year diploma get jobs in schools and other institutions," she says.

She says it is important to know about one’s own religion and also other texts. "We know more about Ramayana than modern kids," she says. "It only broadens our outlook.  So, we teach our students about religion. The reason is that no religion teaches hate."

She feels that ignorance creates suspicions and misunderstandings between communities. Talking of Islam, she says that ``salam valaikum’’ means I wish peace upon you. How can someone wish harm on the other person?

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