Aminiya School, on Thursday, marked its 75th anniversary with a panel discussion under the name 'Ilmee Gulshan', focusing on women empowerment and development.
Organised by distinguished alumni of the landmark school, the function was conducted in two sessions held in the morning and afternoon with a number of Aminiya alumni in attendance. The panel comprised of a former student from every decade starting from the 1950s, with Athiya Naseer, Dr Rasheedha Mohamed Didi, Aneesa Ahmed and Dr Aamaal Ali presenting in the first session, followed by Fathimath Rasheed, Mariyam Isha'a Azeez, Rae Munavvar and Zara Nizar in the afternoon.
Remarks were also given by Dr Zahir Hussain, the Chancellor of Islamic University of Maldives, and Benny Kochuny, who has served in Aminiya as an English Language and Literature teacher for 20 years.
Prior to the discussion, the panelists each gave a speech regarding their personal experiences in the school, reflecting on the impact it had on their careers and remarking on advancements attained since their time at Aminiya.
Highlighting the strides taken towards women empowerment and gender equality, the panelists expressed hopes that future learning environments would also be more open, inclusive and diverse with lesser emphasis on academic competitions. They further noted the importance of increasing awareness among students concerning environmental issues and climate change, as well as fostering love for Maldives' environment in order to motivate current and future generations to work towards conservation.
After the panel discussion, the former principal of Aminiya, Dr Aamaal Ali spoke to The Edition on her three decades of involvement with the school. Noting that the school was currently on break during the holidays, she expressed that "the fact that we marked this day, which is the 75th anniversary, on November 28 itself, is very special to me".
Dr Aamaal also highlighted that some of the alumni on the organising committee were involved with the school in various capacities for 30 or 40 years and had aimed to host an insightful, reflective event, which she declared was successfully achieved.
Fathimath Rasheed, the first female architect in Maldives, current member of the National Planning and Advisory Committee and Aminiya alumnus, described the event as "an opportunity for us to get together and find solutions across generations".
"[The older alumni] who spoke [before me], established a foundation; they were the people who created this environment. I feel like our generation received the most benefits from this foundation", she added.
Veteran teacher Benny Kochuny, who has worked as an educator for 45 years, also shared his sentiments on the diamond jubilee. "Aminiya School has a special place in my heart. I never served 20 years at a stretch [at any other school] even though I have been to various countries".
Aminiya School held a number of celebratory events to mark the diamond jubilee earlier during the year as well. The activities included the Diamond Jubilee Fair in April, the Ameenee Jubilee Diamond Run in July, Ameenee Alimas Carnival in August, an inter-house sports meet for alumni in September, and the Diamond Jubilee Parade in October.
Founded by former President Mohamed Amin Didi in 1944, Aminiya School is the first girls' secondary school in Maldives and exclusively catered to female students until 2011. In the same year, Aminiya School introduced primary education in addition to grades 8, 9 and 10.
Several alumni of the school went on to serve in leading positions across a wide spectrum of fields including law, education, foreign relations and governance.
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