Every Day a Thread

At just 17, Bismillah made an audacious choice to marry a young Englishman, defying her traditional Muslim family and father’s guidance. Yearning to pursue studies, she embarked on an extraordinary journey spanning turbulent historic events. From surviving World War II Japanese occupation in Malaya to overcoming 1960’s British racial discrimination in Birmingham, Bismillah weathered profound challenges that shaped her unlikely destiny.

With poignant insight, she reveals the outsized influence families wield upon access to education and life chances. Through grit and grace, Bismillah surmounted societal barriers to become an education inspector in England, later hoping to contribute to Malaysia’s education initiatives, Bismillah returned to Malaysia to face unexpected challenges.

Bismillah Kader was born in Penang, Malaya, in 1943. She grew up in a traditional Muslim family in Malaya. When Bismillah was seventeen, she married a young Englishman. She describes her experiences of family, social and cultural issues in Birmingham, UK, in the 1960s. Bismillah studied at Birmingham University. She taught in further education colleges and was a full-time inspector of education for the Further Education Funding Council, in England. After retirement, Bismillah set up an IT company and a teacher education college in Malaysia. Bismillah lives in the UK and continues to contribute to promoting opportunities for education.