Samihah Ellahi shared with Salaamedia her inspiring relationship with her father Photo BenoniCityTimes
It was the last day of the Grade 12 final exams. An intense matriculation year demanded every bit of her efforts. All Samihah wanted was a breather before the next phase of her educational journey – university. But things took an unexpected turn when her father’s health declined.
In a sombre discussion on MidMorning with Nafeesa Dangor, Willowmoore High School matric graduate, Samihah Ellahi, shared with listeners the passing of her father, Ashiq Ellahi (46), on the day of her school final exam, and how he nurtured her to become the top achiever she is today.
“It was very difficult. I think it was harder because none of us expected it. It wasn’t a situation where he was sick for very long or we had any warning signs. The only difference was that he didn’t take me to school that day [and] he didn’t pick me up, which is not usually what happens, but other than that it was a very regular day and then everything just happened that afternoon,” she explained.
Ellahi bagged eight distinctions in the 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations. She said her academic ambition was instilled by the open-minded approach her dad took in both her and her sister’s upbringing.
She recalled his way of nurturing and how he broke stereotypes about gender roles.
“I think, the most important thing was that, as a young teenage Muslim girl, he never saw things in a very narrow-minded way. We grew up in a home where it wasn’t, ‘you need to help your mother in the kitchen, you need to clean the house’… It was always ‘you focus on your studies. I’m going to help your mommy clean the house’. It was never a situation where he expected us to fulfil typical women stereotypes, and that’s what inspired us to be ambitious and focused on our studies.”
The 18-year-old top achiever has been accepted to study medicine at the University of Pretoria. As relieved as she is to have produced such impressive results, Ellahi expressed sadness at being unable to share the joy with her supportive father.
Her father encouraged her to pursue her dreams, “Being a doctor is something that I’ve wanted to do and so it was always a matter of do what you love and you can feel when something is meant for you, that’s what you need to do – no matter what it is, no matter what stereotypes you break in the process. It’s up to you to tap into your own potential”.
Nafeesa Dangor spoke to Samihah Ellahi on MidMornings with Nafeesa. Watch the full discussion here:
