The Poetess and the Boarding School

The recitation of verses from the Qur'an could be heard on the porch of the home of the head of the Kebon Jambu Islamic boarding school at Babakan Ciwaringin, Cirebon, West Java. Nyai Hajah Masriyah Amva, 54, patiently mentored dozens of young students. It is not common for a woman to preside over an Islamic boarding school. Each Ramadan fasting month, after the afternoon prayer, the students regularly recite the Qur'an in front of Masriyah's home.

Masriyah is the only woman in Indonesia who heads an Islamic boarding school. She had to take over leadership of the school after her husband Kiai Haji Muhammad died 10 years ago. As a result, she had to educate seven children on her own. Despite her initial doubts, the Islamic high school graduate took over her late husband's leadership duties. Masriyah shattered the view that running an Islamic boarding school was a man's job. "By leading the school, I feel that my life is more meaningful for others," she said.