Living in Hope

FIGHTING FRUSTRATION We may find that some doors are locked along the way, but there are always others that remain open and it is just a question of entering the right one to reach our destina­tion. J ust a few years ago, a Muslim girl of our acquaintance suffered the frustration of being denied modern school education by an overly religious-minded father who refused to send her to a convent school. She was particularly keen on learning English, and rather than waste her time brooding over the fact that certain avenues were now closed to her, she began studying on her own. By dint of constant effort, she became proficient enough in the language to sit the matriculation examination—of course, as a private candidate. Unfortunately, she failed in one subject at her first attempt, but this did not make her lose heart. It had the effect rather of making her work even harder than before and, the following year, she passed the examination with flying colours. She continued her