Sudani offers assistance for student with medical condition

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Wednesday ordered education authorities to provide special accommodation for a student with a medical condition writing exams after her plea went viral on social media. 

Zahra Ayad, a student in the 12th grade from Dhi Qar province, was randomly interviewed by an Iraqi media outlet during the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Karbala on August 20. When asked what she wished for, she called on Sudani to help her pass her final examinations, explaining that she has a medical condition that prevents her from holding a pencil. 

Sudani on Wednesday directed that “someone should be assigned to write on her behalf in the second round because she is disabled.”

Her disability caused her to fail in the first round of exams. 

Sudani also directed the health minister to seek treatment for her inside Iraq or abroad “in order to enable her in the future to complete her dream of excellence without any hindrance.”

In her viral interview, Ayad said that she reached the final year of school through sheer determination and that she has many ambitions for her life.