Viking_Yearbook_78

14 Fatma is a mystical mix. She is tradition and trendsetter. Fatma is a devout Muslim taking time out three times a day to praise Allah. Arabian girls traditionally marry by the age of 23 and as early as 14 in the provincial areas. But the independent Fatma has other goals in mind. She received her B.A. in History from the University of Riyad in Saudi Arabia at the age of 20. She then worked for two years as director of a school for the blind and, working within the system, saw need for change. "I want to make changes in my country. In the area ot the treatment of handicapped children, there is a long way to go." , She applied to her government for a scholarship to come . to Portland State and arrived in 1976, prepared to under– take the difficult task of learning English before she could begin her Master's program in Special Education for the Handicapped.