Babikir Badri
| Babiker Bedri | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Sudanese |
| Occupation | Teacher/Social activist |
| Known for | Women's education in Sudan |
Babiker Bedri (1856–1954) was a Mahdist warrior who became a social activist and worked towards creating the means for women's education in the Sudan.
Work for women's education
Bedri was present at the battle of Omdurman, where the Mahdist army was destroyed. After the battle he migrated to Rufaa, a small town in the region of the Blue Nile, where he founded the first school for girls in Sudan in 1907 and named it “al Ahfad”. Initially it took place at his home, and consisted of the daughters of neighbours. The school was inspected by Currie, the Condominium Director of Education, and found satisfactory, and received a subsidy thereafter. His ideas about girls’ education were strongly opposed by older Sudanese who were suspicious of idea of sending girls to school. Babiker's ideas concerning female education combined traditional Islamic devotions to learning and his then radical idea of secular education and religious instruction to both girls and boys. The main direction of the schooling was towards better nutrition and healthcare, with a view to ensuring healthier children.[1]
The school was later moved from Rufaa to Omdurman in 1943. After which, a high school for boys was established.
The girls' school of Al Ahfad was transformed into a college then a University by his son Yusuf Badri, in 1991.
His autobiography My Life, considered a Sudanese classic, is an important reference on the Sudan history in the Mahdiste era and during the British colonization.
His son Yusuf Bedri continued his work, and his grandson, Gasim Badri, became president of Ahfad University for Women (AUW).
His great-granddaughter is the distinguished BBC news presenter and broadcaster Zeinab Badawi.
References
- Babikr Bedri, My Life Story, 3 volumes, Khartoum, Egypt Press, 1961. (In Arabic).
- Bedri, Y. (Translator) & G. Scott. (1969). The Memoirs of Babikr Bedri. Vol. 1. London: Oxford University Press.
- Bedri, Y. (Translator) & P. Hogg. (1980). The Memoirs of Babikr Bedri. Vol. 2. London: Oxford University Press.