Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): She forced herself to stay home all the time over the past three years so that she could study and achieve grades that would qualify her to get a scholarship to study medicine abroad. Since her childhood, Fatima's dream was to become a doctor and she even felt more determined to fulfill this dream when her father became ill.

In 9th grade, Fatima graduated with a 99.5% rank, scoring eighth place in Bahrain. Fatima was listed among the honors students until she graduated from school this year and gained a rank of 99%.

When the scholarships were being announced, Fatima held her breath in excitement not expecting that she will be oppressed as hundreds of other students over the past five years, since the eruption of the February 14 revolution. She strongly hoped that her very high rank will save her from this oppression. She didn't expect that the regime will target her with its repression even though it has been marked with shame.

The Ministry of Education in Bahrain believed that Fatima deserved no more than a scholarship of 400 Bahraini dinars (1060 USD) granted to her annually to cover her tuition fees that reach up to 8,000 dinars (21164 USD) annually.

On the other contrary, the regime granted one of the Bahraini students whose rank is not higher than 90% Fatima's scholarship.

This; however, wasn't the limit of oppression that Fatima and hundreds of other students faced. A year before, the Ministry of Education ordered the Arabian Gulf University (It is a university affiliated to the Gulf Cooperation Council in which Bahrain has a share and it was the only university that offers the study of medicine before the establishment of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) to not accept any Bahraini student requesting to study medicine unless nominated by the ministry, which is unprecedented in the university's history since its establishment 35 years ago.

As for the Ministry of Education that Fatima desperately turned to in order to submit another application to the Arabian Gulf University, to even pay her own tuition fees, it completely refused to even receive her papers!

Even if Fatima fought this oppression and managed to get these huge amounts of money to pay for her education, it won't do her any good.

Although the Arabian Gulf University, in response to Fatima's father, confirmed that there are 40 places that the university offered to Bahrain, the Education Ministry only announced 25 scholarships in this university.

To whom did the remaining places go? We can bet that if the ministry did not get any candidates for these places, it will choose to throw them away rather than granting one to Fatima.

Fatima has no place to go! Her father went to the Japanese Embassy, who told him that they offered scholarship for medicine to the Government of Bahrain and that they cannot be accepted but through the ministry (which only happened lately)! A far as we are concerned, these scholarships have disappeared to places we have no knowledge of.

The ministry has no mercy and it also wants to prevent others from having mercy! It wants to control all scholarships. Last year, the ministry announced that it will no longer accredit the Chinese universities because hundreds of Shiite students went to study medicine there with their own money, after they had no more options because of criminal sectarian regime that wants to corner them wherever they go.

Fatima's father whose heartbroken because of his daughter's situation turned to a number of gulf universities who said what the others admitted: "We don't mind accepting your daughter but we need the Bahraini Ministry of Education's permission first."

The poor father even turned to a charity in his area that offers scholarships for top-rank students, when he told them his daughter has a rank of 99%, they said that her qualifications allow her to have a scholarship but when he submitted her papers, they didn't accept her. When he asked them why, he received no answer.

It was revealed later on that student with a 97% rank was granted a scholarship from that same charity!

Fatima won't be able to study medicine, even it she got funds because all the universities are now tools in the hands of the Bahraini Education Ministry, as no student can be accepted without its permission.

The Ministry of Education which represents the Bahraini government doesn't want more Shiite doctors in the future. It doesn't want any Shiite doctors to exist. It doesn't want the Shiites to receive high education and let them have independence.

Fatima; however, didn't lose her pride and resilience. She told us that she will not give up her ambitions even if the Ministry of Education tried to deprive her of them out of oppression and tyranny.

Fatima experienced harsh conditions in the past two years because of her father's illness and since he traveled abroad to receive treatment along with her mother yet she faced these conditions and worked hard to graduate with an honors degree.

Year after year, the ministry took over everything so that the day would come to retaliate against Fatima and the ones who came before her and after her not because of a wrongdoing of their making but because they belong to a religious sect deemed the enemy in the eyes of the repressive regime in Bahrain.

It is sectarianism. The names differ, but it's the same victim.

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