04.11.2025 11:52
Eighty-eight-year-old Emine Genç, who resides in the Doğanşehir district of Malatya, applied to the District National Education Directorate after her husband said, "You can't even write your name." Emine Genç, who stated that she was not allowed to go to school by her father in the past, learned to read and write and was able to write her name and surname after three months of education.
Emine Genç (88), who lives in the Sürgü neighborhood of Doğanşehir district in Malatya, could not learn to read and write because her father did not send girls to school. Always having a passion for reading, Genç wanted to learn after getting married but could not find the opportunity. She tried to understand by flipping through the pages of the books at home. One day, when her husband Mustafa Genç (89) told her, "You can't even write your name," she decided to learn to read and write.
WROTE HER NAME AND SURNAME AFTER 3 MONTHS
Emine Genç, who applied to the District National Education Directorate to express her desire to learn to read and write, was directed to Sürgü Primary School where she lived. Starting to take lessons from Visual Arts Teacher Zeynep Atamer, who works in the Sürgü neighborhood, Genç learned to read and write in 3 months thanks to her efforts. Taking her lessons at home, Genç wrote her name and surname in 3 months. Following this, Emine Genç was awarded a certificate of achievement by the District National Education Directorate and the school administration.
"MY FATHER SENT MY 5 BROTHERS TO SCHOOL BUT DID NOT SEND ME"
Emine Genç stated that she was not allowed to go to school by her father when she was young, saying that her brothers were sent to school but she was not given such an opportunity. Expressing that she had always harbored a desire to read and write throughout her life, Genç said, "Even though I opened and closed the books and notebooks every day, whether I read or not. Sometimes my husband helped me, but sometimes he resisted. I also resisted. I drew my strength first from God and then from my teacher Zeynep. I wish I could have read when I was younger. But my father did not send girls to school back then. I had 5 brothers, he sent them to school but did not send me," she said.
"THAT DAY I MADE A DECISION"
Genç said, "One day my husband told me, 'You can't even write your name,' and that day I made a decision. With God's permission, I learned. Now I can write my name and open my phone to call my friends and relatives. Everyone should try to read. Those who cannot read should learn. Reading and writing are both beautiful and enjoyable things. If you are curious, it happens. There is no age limit. Sometimes I forget what I learned and have to stop and think. Older people may learn more slowly than children. Still, I will keep working without stopping," she said.
AUNT EMINE BECAME AN EXAMPLE
Zeynep Atamer, the Deputy Principal of Sürgü Primary School and Visual Arts Teacher, who came to Emine Genç's house to give private lessons, stated that she tried many ways to teach her student, saying, "We live in the same neighborhood as Aunt Emine. The biggest motivating factor for her was her husband Mustafa's statement, 'You can't even read your name.' The process was very long for us. Normally, a letter that is learned in a week took us 1 to 2 months. I tried many methods. I am a visual arts teacher. I had to research how I could teach reading and writing. First, I taught the vowels, then we tried to go through the other letters by syllabicating. It took a bit longer, but that was the best way. I followed what other classroom teachers were doing. There were various book examples, and we took from them. It was difficult for Aunt Emine to hold a pen, but she first learned to read and then learned to write her name and surname along with the basic topics. It took about 3 months for Aunt Emine to write her name and surname. When we started this with Aunt Emine, other aunts in the neighborhood expressed that they also wanted to learn to read and write. There are many younger aunts who have a desire to read and write. Hopefully, we can help them all," she said.