How Malappuram native Asla chased down her dream defying all odds

A woman's life shouldn't be confined only to motherhood. We have come a long way from a time when women were forbidden to study and work. The number of women receiving education and employment has increased in society. Today, women are also involved in the fight for equal rights alongside men. Women have rewritten the old mindset that a woman's life ends with marriage, by demonstrating their capabilities. While many women have revived their studies, attained higher education, and reclaimed their lives, the life story of Dr Asla Hydarali Khan from Malappuram is somewhat different. She overcame life's challenges to rise from a homemaker with only a 10th-grade education to a doctor. Her husband was instrumental in this mission. Asla shares her journey from homemaker to doctor with Manorama Online.

Doctor husband makes wife a doctor
Asla, who had only a 10th-grade education, became a doctor after becoming a mother of three children. Even though she married at a young age, she always harboured the desire to study and work. Circumstances didn't allow this earlier. Soon after marriage, her eldest daughter was born. For a while, she focused on her daughter and household responsibilities. Her husband, Dr. Hydarali Khan, supported her in resuming her studies after ten years and becoming a doctor. Asla's husband belonged to a family, which has a long tradition in Ayurvedic medicine.

The question that sowed the seeds of ambition
While she was a homemaker, Asla and her husband started an Ayurvedic hospital named 'TTM Oushadhasala'. Seven years into their marriage, Asla became a mother for the second time. Although Asla only had a 10th-grade education, Hydarali Khan appointed her as the manager of the hospital. This was a turning point in her life. While serving as the hospital manager, her husband's question, "Can you become a doctor?", changed Asla's life. Thus, Asla, a mother of two, decided to pursue Plus Two (12th Grade) as the first step towards becoming a doctor. During her distance learning Plus Two program, she became pregnant with her third child. Despite the physical challenges of pregnancy, Asla refused to discontinue her studies. She persevered and passed Plus Two with over 75%.

Moments of discouragement
After passing Plus Two, Asla prepared to become an Ayurvedic doctor. She enrolled in the BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) program at KMCT Ayurvedic Medical College, Kozhikode. She lived in Kozhikode with her newborn third son, commuting from Malappuram. During this time, she faced numerous hardships. A baby only months old, living away from home, and a demanding course put a significant strain on her. However, her husband's support helped her to overcome these challenges. “After having three children, I faced a lot of criticism for resuming my studies. My husband was always my support. Everyone in my class was younger than me. At one point, I even thought I wouldn't be able to complete the course. There were times I was so discouraged I didn’t even go to class. The support of my close friends and my husband helped me to continue,” Asla explains. She later completed a PG Diploma in Medical Cosmetology.

Today, Asla is a renowned Ayurvedic doctor and skin and hair specialist. Her eldest daughter, Jabinsh, is a second-year MBBS student. Her second daughter, Jishana, is preparing for NEET to become a doctor. Her youngest son, Muhammed Sinan, is in the eighth grade.