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= Amna Mahmoud Al-Jaida = Amna Mahmoud Al-Jaidah (Arabic: آمنة محمود الجيدة) was born in 1913 in the Al-Jasra neighborhood in the State of Qatar. She is named as the first Qatari teacher and is one of the prominent women in Qatar. Her teacher was Sheikh Hamid al-Mulla. She memorized the Holy Qur’an during her education. Education was spread among girls in Qatar through her, where she taught women to go to their homes. Then, in 1938, she opened a school in her home, and the number of her students was approximately 60. At the beginning, she was subjected to many criticisms because of the parents' refusal to educate girls in the twentieth century.

Amna Mahmoud Al-own Jaydah's educational journey and eventual career as one of Qatar's first female teachers are similar to this description of a typical, Quranic classroom. She was brought up in a devoted Muslim family that followed the rules of Islam. Mahmoud Youssef Al-Jaydah, her father, was a well-known diver and pearl trader who also held a position of distinction in society. Mahmoud Youssef emphasized the value of education for both males and girls since he thought it set kids on the right path. He instilled and reinforced this belief in his daughter, inspiring her to excel academically. She was equally encouraged to study the Quran by her mother, Nayela Bint Mohamed Darwish.

Contributions to Qatari Women's Education
Amna Mahmoud was an influential figure in the struggle for female education in Qatar. She was also well-known in Qatar for advocating women empowerment so that they can all take significant roles in the country's growth. Her most prominent contributions are highlighted below:


 * In 1954, Amna Mahmoud’s book was selected as a teaching material to the first primary school for girls in Qatar.


 * In 1955, she managed the first educational school for girls in Qatar named “Doha Girls School”. Amna Mahmoud also became the first Qatari female teacher in the first Qatari school for girls.
 * She also contributed to the establishment of girls’ schools in Al Wakrah and Al Khor.
 * As the amount of students approached 100, she was able to persuade a number of parents to allow her to educate girls.

Amna’s advocacy had ultimately resulted in the first stage of a gradual process of obtaining official support for girls' education in Qatar. She recognized and accepted that education for females would progress at a slower rate than education for boys.

Legacy
As early as 1948, Amna Mahmoud hoped that Qatar would surpass some of the education advances that had already taken place in the neighboring Arab Gulf states of Bahrain and Kuwait. While she lived in Bahrain in the early 1930s, she had been familiar with the country’s first girls’ primary school. Perhaps, Amna herself dreamed of attending such school one day to get an education. Seeing how Bahrain was getting advanced in education, she wished that Qatar would also move forward in educating children.

Amna Mahmoud was not the only one who wanted Qatar to establish a regular or modern educational system for its people. Many Qataris who traveled abroad on business trips, returned home talking about the educational progress in countries such as Kuwait and Bahrain.

Another constant theme throughout Amna Mahmoud’s life as an educator was her reliance on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as the primary source for persuading Qataris of their duty as Muslims to become literate and support equal education for girls and boys.

Amna Mahmoud al-Jaidah died in the year 2000, at the age of 87. Following that, a school was built in the name of “Amna Mahmoud al-Jaidah” in her honor. She was also noted by Aisha Fakro as ‘a woman who stepped into an advanced field to pave the way for other females seeking learning and knowledge.’