Beyond the Stereotypes

Growing up in a group of four active siblings, three girls and one boy, is an interesting experience. My nineteen-year-old brother cooks with more passion than I can ever conjure up for any house chore except for washing cars. Every week, I looked forward to Sunday, a start of a new week for some, a therapeutic day for me to indulge in my self-care routine which involved washing my mum’s car while listening to one of the best playlists in town. We were not brought up to see culturally predetermined differences as my Dad makes the best-pounded yam and my Mum contributes to our school fees too. I never for once felt less capable than my nineteen-year-old brother and my parents supported our dreams of becoming Engineers. My parents gave equal rights to each of their five children to become the best version of themselves. I had the right to pick my hobbies, interests, friends and profession.

For many people in Nigeria, tertiary education is the best shot to move out of poverty. Along with this significance comes lots of goodies which include building a robust network of likeminded people, mixing with students from other backgrounds and cultures, discovering yourself and of course having lots of fun without strict supervision. What I didn’t know when I accepted my studentship at the University of Ibadan was the fact that I was signing up to see life unfiltered, through my own lens, to see people for who they are and face the real world without a piggyback from my parents.

The University of Ibadan exposed me to people from other backgrounds. Nothing could have prepared me for the shock. I was bewildered by some stories and scenarios and I didn’t adjust well at least for the first two years. Some days ago, a friend playfully informed me about how much he admired my growth. Looking back now, I can tell you it wasn’t easy to make those changes. Just like every other young adult out there, I fought my way here. During this period of self-discovery and acceptance, I noticed a lot of irregularities. I couldn’t overlook the fact that every time I attended any personal or career development program organised for students at the premier university, I rarely find people who dressed like me in the congregation. Where are the ladies I pray Jumat with? Why was I the only one excusing myself to observe Solat while the program continued?

There are a lot of reasons attributed to this problem, some can be fixed and some will take more than the combination of our individual actions. I choose to focus on things I can change.

I knew I had to do something to change this narrative.

Our aim is to empower our members with employability skills that will make them succeed and thrive in the workforce. We hope to achieve our goal through online and offline training, building solution-focused projects, seminars, workshops, hackathons and making opportunities accessible to our members. Our long term goal is to recommend active members for job opportunities around the globe. To ensure effectiveness and to achieve our goal faster, we screened 60 ladies from BTS Tribe who will be in our skill hub for six months starting in June.

Recently, we launched an initiative for young girls between the age of 10 to 18. Girls Beyond the Stereotypes is a three months program geared towards empowering young girls, personal development and making the right career choices.

We have a long way to go. With the right team and Allah’s blessings, nothing is impossible.

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