The Graduate
Haniah Sultanbawa
Mrs. Haniah Sultanbawa did not “just carry on” and “get married to somebody” like other young Muslim girls of her time even though she was brought up to do so. In 1960, she became the first Muslim woman from the Southern Province to graduate from a university.
She spoke of the expectations placed on young women in her community, of marriage as the assumed path, and of the support she received from her father and a missionary teacher who ensured she could continue her studies. At Methodist College in Colombo she was the only Muslim girl, and she encountered ridicule about her dress, speech and manner. By her final year, she had become a hostel prefect.
Looking back, she resisted describing herself as exceptional. “It was shocking for a Muslim girl to enter the university,” she said. “But I did it.”
Mrs Khalid in Galle Fort introduced me to Mrs Haniah Sultanbawa. The first Muslim woman from the Southern Province to graduate from university was a significant figure within her community, though she did not present herself that way.
I visited her at her home in Colombo. She had moved there in 1964 after becoming a teacher. Retirement had not entirely removed her from education; she continued to tutor students occasionally.
Throughout our conversation she described her progress as circumstance rather than ambition. She credited her father, who insisted on education for his daughters, and Miss Ridge, a missionary teacher who arranged for her transfer to Methodist College when Southlands discontinued its A Level classes. At Methodist she was the only Muslim girl. She recalled difficulty with English conversation, unfamiliarity with cutlery, and being teased by wealthier students. By her third year she had become a hostel prefect.
Listening to her, I was reminded of my own mother, who was the first woman in her community on the island of Kayts to enter medical school at Peradeniya. The social expectations differed in detail — Tamil Hindu in the north, Muslim in the south — but the structure was recognisable: education negotiated through paternal support, community scrutiny, and the quiet crossing of boundaries that later appear ordinary.
Mrs Sultanbawa framed her achievement as compliance with circumstance rather than defiance. Yet in describing what was “shocking” at the time, she mapped the limits of what was considered possible
Galle
February 2011
Transcript and translations
Language
Subjects discussed
It was shocking for a Muslim girl to enter the university. But I did it.
Now we didn’t have minds of our own like the girls these days. We didn’t say… My daughter will say, “I want to be this”. It was not so.
Now I would say that I was lucky that my father was adamant and he gave me the opportunity to carry on with my education. Otherwise I would have been at home and I would have got married to somebody (Laughter). So I would have just taken it. Because you know I didn’t know… At that time… Now, comparatively, I can speak about it. But at that time, that was the way of doing things. So I wouldn’t have complained, I would have just carried on.
Because we were brought up like that. We didn’t have such critical open mind. There was no influence of the TV or radio like that. So we were docile. We just carried on. But circumstances helped me to come up. So that’s something that I am thankful, and the other person is Miss Ridge. Actually she’s a missionary… she was a missionary. My third sister was kept out of school for some time, but she saw to it that she was also brought back to school and now she’s also a teacher. She was a teacher. And so many other Muslim girls she has helped. So she thought I was a… I was good, so she helped me through. So when they closed down the A level class at Southlands, she made arrangements to take us into Methodist College and boarding and all. I was the only Muslim girl.
For me, it was a real struggle. Because I was a poor girl. I was not equipped in dress or anything like that. And my English was also not so good. I could answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I couldn’t carry on a conversation. And I couldn’t eat with the fork and spoon. So I actually became a target of… for jokes for them. They used to come behind me and talk about me. Actually, they were taunting me. But I was strong. Any other child I suppose… I tell my children also, even if… these children… if they had faced that situation, they would have cried and gone back home, back to Galle. But later on, by the third year, they made me a hostel prefect and all that. That came through. Then it… At that time, I was stronger.
After I left Methodist College, awaiting results, I was teaching. So I was better equipped economically also to go to the university. Somehow or other, there was some kind of blessing to go through.
For three years, we had a lovely life. Freedom. Not that we did anything wrong, but there was freedom to go out anytime. Go for lectures or stay back, nobody cared.
I wouldn’t say I had a big intelligence or something like that, but I have a good memory. People thought it was a wonderful thing. Because it was the first time a Muslim girl getting out and going to Peradeniya. Because university life was almost taboo those days. It was shocking for a Muslim girl to enter the university. But I did it. So, maybe they were proud, but I thought it was just another step forward.
I made the opening so after that there was such an earnest decision to study. Now it’s just commonplace. Not a wonder like those days.
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