A mother in the workforce

By: Fatma Bujsaim

On the left: Aisha Bin Bishr. On the Right: Moza Al Arai.

There is no equation, every mother has her own way of raising her children, confesses the Assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor on a panel discussion organized by the Student Council. The panel included to student-mothers and Aisha Bin Bishr, who is also a mother.

The students, Hessa Mehayer and Fatma Salim, discussed the problems they face such as time management and finding the balance between their studies and giving their children the attention they need. Fatma, an International Studies major, said that she had to learn to find a middle ground between caring for her children herself, and finishing her assignments while her children are with the nanny. She went through many difficult moments when she thought she wouldn’t be able to make it.

Around 15 students attended the discussion that was held in the Atrium. When Bin Bishr was asked how can one balance their life, she said, “ your ambition creates the equation,” she continues, “I had to make some difficult decisions in my life and I am proud of them.”

Aisha Bin Bishr also told her story of when she had to leave her 3 years old with her mother and went abroad for four years to finish her Masters degree. Aisha also decided to complete her PhD which took her two extra years. Moza Al Arai, the moderator asked Bin Bishr how she feels about this after all these years, “My happiness lies in my daughters eyes,” says Bin Bishr, “when she opens the newspaper in the morning before me and says ‘mama I found your picture’”.

One of the issues the panel discussed was that of the girls these days wanting to get married early. “Girls know the value of being a mother because they have mothers themselves,” replied Aisha, “but they need to be a hundred percent convinced that this is what they want at this time because marriage is a commitment. It’s a responsibility. It is not just a party with a white dress.”

The last advice Aisha gave her audience was that they shouldn’t try to become their children’s friends, because the children already have their friends. They should just open their hearts to them and be tolerant with what their children bring to them. She also added that parents could be judgmental sometimes with the type of music their children listen to or the kind of movies they watch, but parents should be more open about things because at some point in their lives, parents were the same age as their children and want to try new things.

Video: Aisha Bin Bishr on the panel

Audio: Aisha Bin Bishr quote