Freedom for Mahdi Abu Deeb – Interview with daughter Maryam Abu Deeb

Biography
Mahdi Abu Deeb studied art at University of Baghdad. Later he became a teacher. In 2001, Deeb was promoted by the Ministry of Education to take responsibly for outlining the arts study program and courses offered by government schools. He founded the BTA in the same year to empower teachers’ role and equity, and was elected its president. In 2009, he received a PhD in education from Arabian Gulf University.[1] In 2010, he was elected Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Teachers’ Union.

Role in the Bahraini uprising
In February 2011, large-scale pro-democracy protests began in Bahrain as part of the international Arab Spring. During the period between 19 February 2011 and 16 March when authorities allowed protests in the Pearl Roundabout, BTA played an important role in the uprising; they shared same demands with protesters and pressured the government to achieve them. Deeb was there almost daily. “He would leave home in the morning and come back late at night. If he wasn’t at Pearl, he was meeting people about schools,” his eldest daughter Maryam said.[1] On 20 February, the BTA called for a three-day strike demanding reforms in Bahrain’s educational system and protesting killing and suppression of activists, of whom students made up a high percentage.[1] More than five thousand teachers participated in the strike. When the martial law was imposed on 16 March, BTA called for another strike, this one lasting ten days. …more