Tayyibah Girls' School

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Tayyibah Girls' School, in London, England is an Islamic primary and secondary educational institute that caters to girls from ages 4 to 18.

Tayyibah Girls' School prides itself on the magnetic power of the Headmistress NB Qureshi. Her wrath is undeniable, discipline is her only goal and she will stop at nothing to attain it. She famously referred to students as 'animals' and threatens students with expulsion if they so much as dare to utter an uncouth word in her presence. Students are demeaned and cronyism is the norm. Even teachers cannot escape her reach, as one of the school's finest teachers was forced to walk out after being treated with blatant disrespect by an autocratic Head.

The school stands for its Islamic reputation. Yet the school administration doesn’t respect the basic fundamentals of Islam which are of respect, unity, brotherhood and honesty. For almost two decades Tayyibah has existed. Though the school has physically expanded and academically grown, the atmosphere within its walls remains restrictive and oppressive.

Very few students have held a conversation with Mrs. Qureshi (unless, of course, they were on the verge of being expelled for trying to have an opinion on the way the school is run), she believes this lack of communication is one of the core principles which makes the school ‘successful’. Success, however, is measured in greater straits than simply academic. The school's academic achievements are a testimony to the excellent subject teachers and the hard work of the girls who attend the school. However, as many parents and teachers alike have often voiced, the school fails in its core aims of providing its students with both an Islamic Education, as well as giving them the best possible start to life in the outside world. By the end of the school year, the Head has quashed the confidence and self-respect of her girls, teaching them only how to submit to her authority.

The students are treated as inconveniences, held to ransom by brown expulsion-envelopes. The ethos and aims of the school are not carried outside of the school gates. This is because Tayyibah does not educate, it only forces its students to comply.

Students do not find the school rules themselves repressive. There we have few qualms. Rules govern every aspect of our universe and, in schools, are necessary for high educational standards. It is the manner in which these rules are enforced and the attitude of our Headmistress which causes concern.

If running the school through fear, arrogance, hypocrisy and disrespect worked, Tayyibah would have higher standards of discipline than other Private Schools. This is clearly not the case. Tayyibah’s students would have some sense of loyalty to the school they attend, this is not the case. Tayyibah’s students and teachers struggle to flourish under such a demonic wrath, the school has the potential to achieve so much for young, Muslim women. Simply by adopting the examples from other Islamic schools, many of which have made the headlines for revolutionising the communities they serve, Tayyibah could be a worthwhile addition to the borough of Hackney and the Muslim Community.

It will not be so unless the Headmistress and those members of the Management Committee she wishes to consult (the others are excluded from meetings), understand that there needs to be a Natural Progression. A stagnant form of conservatism is doomed to failure. As long as Mrs. Qureshi and the Brown Envelopes exist, this flimsy discipline will exist. However, as past and current students have shown, the school ‘ethos’ however noble its intentions may be, is not carried outside the school gates.

What is being learnt? “Spoon feeding,” as EM Forster said, “in the long run, teaches nothing but the shape of the spoon.” Tayyibah silences those who matter most, its students, those who make its very existence possible.

There is no communication, only fear. Fear will never win any respect. For all Mrs. Qureshi demands respect, she must realise that in order to earn respect, she must show respect. A respectful attitude would be in line with Islam; the religion the school aims to instil in its young women.

We are not students of Tayyibah until we are acknowledged, respected and taught by example. As much as the administration would like to think, this is no lone voice breaking the silence. This is the voice embodying the many hundreds of girls through Tayyibah’s existence, this is a growing voice of dissent which will not be so easily silenced.

That this entry is the only form of dissent open to students, teachers and parents, is a damning testimony to the validity of our argument.

Famous quotes from headmistress:

[To a student] “You are a street-kid, and you should go back to the streets.”

“I will not spare you.”

[To the assembly] “What kind of animals are you? Even animals are better than you!”

[To a parent] “I am so glad I only have boys.”

[To a student with emotional difficulties, self-harm] “Pull up your sleeves or I will call the police!”

“You are like rotten apples in my school. We can’t let the disease spread.”

[To a class] “Your behaviour is like a disease, we can’t let it spread from one person to another.”

[Threatening a student to manipulate her narration of events] “Write down on this paper, what I tell you to.”

“But she didn’t do it, Miss.”

“Write down what I tell you to, or I will expel you from my school!”

[To a group of girls collecting a written petition at the state of the school toilets - some did not even have locks on the doors, most were out of order] “I want them out! I don’t want to hear their excuses, I want them out! Send letters to their parents!”

[Speaking of a particular student to a class] "If [name of student] leads you to hell, will you follow?"