Essay
Topic: Describe a problem facing women in Mozambique and provide a possible solution to the problem
Name: Adaíma Mussa Mustafa
School: Polana Secondary School
Phone number: 844460012
Email:
Maputo, April 2017
Do Mozambican women only suffer domestic violence?
When people want to talk about problems facing women, it’s all about violence, but there are other issues that need to be changed in women’s lives.
Beyond domestic and sexual violence, women face other types of problems in the professional area. There are few women in the scientific area, working on areas like: Engineering, Architecture, etc.But why?
I, as a student of Science with Drawing in high school, am only one of four girls in a class of thirty-five students. I can see that my class is a reflection of what really happens in society.
Thissituation occurs because women are not even encouraged to follow these areas.
Women are convinced since childhood that exact sciences are not for them. When they are still kids, they are given cooking toys, baby dolls and other kind of toys and the boys, they have already started dealing with cars and plane toys, showing that, this situation starts in the childhood. It’s like the society already say: sorry this is not for you!
This is something cultural too. In Africa women are born to learn cooking and house stuff and then, marry and have kids. Yes, I do agree that a woman must be ready to have and take care of a family but it is wrong when women are only limited to do that in life.
Some women want to pursue a career in the scientific areas, but they face a lot of pressure and intimidation, when they go to the classroom and just find a lot of men already saying that they won’t last even a year there. When there are works to do in groups and the woman is treated like she is less intelligent!
How can this change?
I believe that women need more encouragement, and to be encouraged, the minds of the society must change. Women are capable of being brilliant and professional in their working field.
I believe that women need to be motivated since childhood, being given the opportunity to have interactions with science and be challenged to participate in science contests. The family has an important role, encouraging them and helping them discover their potential.
I believe that women can exterminate this taboo with determination. Women can take Josina Machel’s example. Did she just sit at home while there was a war happening? No, she was an active woman. She fought and contributed toMozambique’s independence. The Woman’s Day is about remembering what Josina and other women did to Mozambique. Their commitment and bravery is what the women of today must take in their hearts.
Workshops can be done in schools to help girls be more informed and more interested in Science, to encourage and to show them that science is not so hard when you have determination and passion.
To make it more interesting, public science contests focusing on girls and women can be done to show their ideas, discoveries or things created by them.
And the most important; women must fight and not give up. To change this situation women must go for their dreams with focus and don’t just wait for people’s acceptance, because Mozambique needs more examples to inspire and motivate other women.
Let the Mozambican women take Barack Obama’s words and say: “Yes I Can!”
Bio
Adaíma Mussa Mustafa, is 17 and is from Maputo. She is a high school senior at Polana Secondary School. Her dream career is in Computer Science because she likes technology and would love to be able to work with it. Right now, she is learning some programming basics on her own. She describes herself as a self-taught person. She also has played violin for two years in an orchestra and her aim is to become a virtuoso.