Photo: Tekton | Unsplash
Fatima Adamu, took the wheel and started the first all-female garage workshop aiming to provide jobs for women in an industry dominated by men. She founded the non-profit organization Nana: Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative in the northern Nigerian state of Sokoto opening the workshop in 2019. Fatima says, "We want it to be of international standard, where women specifically can get the best services. And for that to happen, we must really train the girls. We want to be scientific." The apprenticeship is a 2-year training and applicants are chosen from unemployed graduates to women from poorer families with few opportunities. "I want our women to get out of the societal norms that bind them," she says. "There are so many technology-related activities that women are excluded from in this part of the country. We cannot succeed in northern Nigeria without technology, and women must be part of that journey." Customer Abba Lawal regularly brings his car to Nana's and says they do better work than other places: "I come to the garage to encourage the girls and also I like the way they work on cars without delays." With the program's success there is a waiting list for the new apprentice scheme starting this month.
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