24-YEAR-OLD FEMALE MECHANIC SHOCKS HER COMMUNITY
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Joseph Omoniyi
A 24-year-old female mechanic, Uzma Nawaz is said to be faced with two common reactions in her patriarchal, conservative Pakistan community, as a result of her choice of profession.
Since picking up a wrench as one of the first female car mechanics, the 24-year-old has spent years overcoming entrenched gender stereotypes and financial hurdles en route to earning a mechanical engineering degree and netting a job with an auto repairs garage in the eastern city of Multan.
“I took it up as a challenge against all odds and the meagre financial resources of my family”.
“When they see me doing this type of work they are really surprised,” Nawaz told AFP.
Nawaz who hailed from the small, impoverished town of Dunyapur in eastern Pakistan’s Punjab province, had relied on scholarships and often skipped meals when she was broke while pursuing her degree.
Her achievements were rare. Women have long struggled for their rights in patriarchal Pakistan, an Islamic republic, and especially in rural areas are often encouraged to marry young and devote themselves entirely to family over career.
“No hardship could break my will and motivation,” she said proudly.
The sacrifices cleared the way for steady work at a Toyota dealership in Multan following graduation, she added.
Just a year into the job, and promoted to general repairs, Nawaz moved with the ease of a seasoned pro around the dealership’s garage, removing tyres from raised vehicles, inspecting engines and handling a variety of tools a sight that initially jolted some customers.
A customer, Arshad Ahmad told AFP, “I was shocked to see a young girl lifting heavy spare tyres and then putting them back on vehicles after repairs”.
But Nawaz’s drive and expertise has impressed colleagues, who say she can more than hold her own.
“Whatever task we give her she does it like a man with hard work and dedication,” said coworker M. Attaullah.
She has also convinced some of those who doubted her ability to make it in a male-dominated work environment, including members of her own family.
“There is no need in our society for girls to work at workshops, it doesn’t seems nice, but it is her passion,” said her father Muhammad Nawaz.
“She can now set up the machinery and can work properly. I too am very happy.”
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