Palestinian granny completes university degree at 85
Grandmother makes history as the college’s oldest graduate
Dubai: When it comes to chasing your dreams, it’s never too late to realise them. An 85-year-old Palestinian grandmother has just proved that.
Jihad Battu from Nazareth has graduated in Islamic Studies from the College of Sharia, Kafr Bara, making history as the college’s oldest graduate.
Born in 1936 in the West Bank city of Nablus, she was named Jihad by her family, an Arabic name meaning “struggle or fight against the enemy.”
She went to a school in Al Mujaydil, near Nazareth, until 1948 when the Nakba took place and Palestinians were expelled from their homes, according to media reports. In the same year , Battu’s mother became very sickand Jihad was forced to drop out of school.
In 1954, Jihad married and had five children. However, her passion for studying and learning never died. She took several courses in Arabic, English and Hebrew, as well as courses in mathematics.
At the age of 81, she was still enthusiastic about studying. She decided to enroll in a college to obtain a university degree and wear a graduation gown and she just did so.
In an interview with a local website, Jihad said that she chose to study Islamic Sharia because of her love and devotion to the Islamic traditions and rules.