PhD Degree Awarded to Ms. Ebtesam Sheikh Hasan Sheikhan

Ms. Ebtesam Sheikh Hasan Sheikhan was awarded a PhD degree in English Literature for her dissertation titled “Scrutinizing Feminism in I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai: A Comparative Study,” which was submitted to Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages – Sana’a University. The PhD dissertation defense was held on Saturday, August 30, 2025, corresponding to Rabi’ al-Awwal 7, 1447 Hijri.

The PhD Viva-Voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Post-Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following members:

#	Committee Members	Designation	University	Position
1	Assoc. Prof. Abbas Abdulmalik Mutahar	Internal examiner	Sana’a University	Chair
2	Prof. Eman Abdullah Al-Mahdi	Main supervisor	Sana’a University	Member
3	Assoc. Prof. Bushra Nasser Ahmed Al-Musawba	External Examiner	Hajjah University	Member

The dissertation aimed to shed light on the difficult circumstances faced by some women and their resilience in the face of hardship, as depicted in Najood Ali’s I Am Najood, Aged 10 and Divorced from Yemen and Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala from Pakistan.

The dissertation concluded with several key findings, including:

The presence of gender discrimination within some families and legal institutions.
An assertion that women have a right to education, choice, and work.
Confirmation that Islam is a religion that values both genders and that some in the West have used religion to distort the role of women in society.

The candidate provided several recommendations in her thesis, such as:

Carefully analyzing texts and building language to develop a clear approach that allows readers to easily understand.
The necessity of evaluating the female perspective to gain a deeper understanding of women’s status from various points of view.
Investigating the ways in which female authors have advocated for women’s rights within an Islamic framework.
Expanding the theoretical framework of this study for a more in-depth analysis.

The PhD dissertation was examined and recommended by the Viva-Voce Committee for acceptance and approval. The PhD defense was attended by a number of academics, researchers, interested students, the candidate’s colleagues, and family members.