September 30, 2010
10:30 pm
This article is about two women from Senegal who are mechanics and have owned their own business since 2005. Female mechanics are practically unheard of in West Africa. When they first started out some people made fun of their for wanting to work on cars but now they are highly respected as business owners and were even invited to meet the Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade a few years ago. They have had a passion for this business for a long time. They attended a technical school for three years, worked as mechanics in repair shops, and eventually saved up enough money to open their own garage. According to the article, at first they had trouble getting men to trust them with their cars, they now have a successful business with eight employees, all men. The article mentions another female owner of an auto repair shop, Ndeye Coumba, who oversees thirty employees, ten of them being women.
I'm glad that I found this article tonight since we were just talking about gender roles in different societies in class today. The article does mention the fact that many women in Senegal do not pursue higher education, instead they often leave school early to get married and start raising a family. I think women should be able to choose if they want to get married, or have a career, or both, but it's nice to see these two women doing something completely out of the ordinary. I think a female mechanic anywhere would be an unusual sight and I could understand it being a difficult concept for men to get used to. This article is a good example of what feminism really means because it shows women having a choice in their future.
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