Andala Yakubu came to MSU as a MasterCard scholar from Ghana. She is passionate about women’s empowerment and community development. As a dual major in Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in Religious Studies, she is interested in advancing the social and economic empowerment of rural girls and young women. 

In Spring 2019, Andala took the Women’s Studies special topics course with Camelia Suleiman on Women’s Voices in the Arab World. “I came into the WS 491 class with little knowledge about gender relations in the Middle East. Honestly, all I ‘knew’ about the Middle East was that it was a place where women are second-class citizens and given out in marriage against their will,” Andala said. “For a long time, I held these beliefs because of the sensationalism and exoticization with which the media addresses the issues of Middle Eastern women.”

After a semester of readings, discussions, and learning activities focused on women in the Middle East, Andala and her classmates were able to broaden their understanding of women in another culture. Andala explained, “I am fortunate that I took this class and I can now confidently say that I have learned a lot about Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine.”  The class also gave Andala the opportunity to engage with a Syrian woman in her community. 

Andala was particularly impacted by reading the stories of five female authors from the Middle East because they provided an insight into the role of women in their communities. She is happy to recommend reading about Huda Shaarawi’s acts of charity and women’s empowerment programs; Nawal Sadaawi’s description of women patriots and nationalists who give up their lives for their countries; Fadwa Tuqan’s narrative of women’s liberation; Sahar Khalifeh’s book of the Palestinians’ struggle to affirm cultural and national identity; and al-Shaykh’s metaphorical story of Zahra which reveals the aftermath of the 17-year old civil war in Lebanon on women and the community.