The first female North Eastern graduate, Nuriya Sheikh Farah, had to go against the norm for her to get an education at a time when girls were not allowed to school in the region.
In 1963, Nuriya was enrolled at the Wajir primary school where she was the only girl in an all-boys school.
She got jeered by the other students who told her that girls did not have brains but Nuriya remained resilient in her pursuit for education.
When she performed better than them, they would claim that she was being offered extra help from the teachers.
Ms Nuriya was born to a senior chief who had four wives and only boys in her family and the community at large were sent to school.
She was lucky as she had a brother, Omar Sheikh Farah, who was an educationist. Omar convinced their father to allow Nuriya to attend school.
He argued that Nuriya’s mother was the third wife and did not have a son.
Their father agreed to the request and soon after, rumours spread in Wajir town that the chief was sending one of her daughters to school.
Reports by a local publisher indicate that women friends and relatives tried to talk Nuriya’s mother out of it but her parents decided to go ahead with the plan.
The former high school teacher later enrolled in Kangaru High School for her A Levels and was admitted at the University of Nairobi.
She attained a Bachelor’s degree in Education, History and English Literature, making her the first woman to graduate in North Eastern.