The young, bold and raring to move

Popular writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said: “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.”

However, today’s teachings have changed and a crop of young women are going against all odds to quash demeaning cultural norms and break the glass ceiling to create a niche for themselves.

Youthful women, whose dreams would have been to settle into the submissive family life and bring up families, have ventured into different careers, at times outshining their male counterparts. We take a look at a number of young women who have made noticeable strides in various fields in the last 10 years.

Nadia Abdalla

For 27-year-old Nadia Abdalla her appointment as the ICT Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) by President Uhuru Kenyatta gave her dream a shot in the arm.

Ms Abdalla is driven by the zeal to help the youth in three areas; representation in different fields, including participation, which offers them an opportunity to be heard, innovation which is seen as a form of job creation and entrepreneurial skills. She is also expected to promote social and national cohesion to bring together the youth, empower and champion them towards socio-economic development of the nation.

She’s a strong champion and advocate for mental health, which she believes is a key factor in maximising abilities and talents to support the Big Four Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.

Her journey over the past decade has been exciting and challenging at the same time. She had to find her voice in a society where women who do so are seen as ‘know-it-alls’.

As a young Muslim woman, Ms Abdalla veered off the norm to stand for what she believes in. She has a communication network to instil confidence in women. She runs an online and offline coaching academy, where she trains the youth in public speaking skills and articulation of issues. As a woman passionate about mental health.

She has begun a conversation about the issue in Mombasa, and residents can now speak openly about it. She says her appointment as CAS shows the President believes in young women regardless of their background. Ms Abdalla says the appointment of women by the President are a boost to the two-third gender rule.

She wants every woman to understand the significance of empowerment and calls on them to see it as a tool for growth and information. She praises the government’s Women Enterprise Fund set aside for women entrepreneurs to give them loans, train them and market their businesses.

Ms Abdalla also appreciates the digitisation aspect where young women are being empowered through the Ajira digital programme by the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs.

Her message to young women is: “It is not about how many spaces have been created for us, but how well we can bring out our ideas, amplify our voices and be a representation of why there is need for us on the table.”

Njoki Chege

At only 30, Njoki Chege is the director of Innovation Centre and Projects, GSMC, at the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media & Communication. Here, she is at the epicenter of imagining and testing the future of media and journalism through innovation.

Ms Chege is the first woman to hold this title for the new position created alongside the Innovation centre.

She encounters a lot of great innovative media ideas requiring to be nurtured into the next big thing. She started her career 10 years ago, as an intern at Standard Group. Back then, she didn’t have a clear cut career path although she aspired to be a better writer.

Over the years, she has learnt the value of learning to change with the times and to move things around depending on her environment while offering solutions in the ever-changing industry.

To stay ahead of her game, she says she quickly readjusts and moves to the next idea when the first one fails. Ms Chege is very knowledgeable and attributes this to reading widely. She is just about to complete her PhD.

On women empowerment, Ms Chege says although companies have done a lot to include them in the decision making table, there is still room for improvement. According to her, more women should be encouraged to step forward without the fear of penalisation.

This, she believes, will make more people adapt to seeing women leading various industries. She is positive that the bold step taken by the government to encourage women into entrepreneurship and through appointing them to positions of power, is a bold step into the right direction.

Ms Chege encourages young women to be confident in their abilities since no dream is too big to achieve. She feels that women underestimate themselves and do not speak up, which then hinders them from taking steps towards their dreams.

Ms Chege mentions the words of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi as some of the philosophies she lives by: “Know your power, know your why…know your subject, so you can speak with authority. Have a plan, be strategic…have your own confidence and don’t worry about their hang ups.”

Makena

Makena is a tout on the Nairobi-Kikuyu route. She has been in the matatu business for three years. The bubbly woman says she enjoys her job. Being able to help people move from one point to another makes it satisfying.

The 24-year-old dreamt of getting to get a white-collar job once she completed school. However, that was not to be as she lost her mother and had to drop out of school. She, however, has no regrets concerning her career path.

Ms Makena sees today's woman as bolder, saying the negative bias towards women pursuing certain careers has dropped compared to 10 years ago. She is glad the government is making baby steps in matters women empowerment.

Wanjiru Kariuki

The founder of Dignity for Education, Wanjiru Kariuki, is another great achiever. Dignity for Education is a mentorship programme, which equips the youth with tools on life skills. It also focuses on restoring dignity to needy pupils, by giving the girls pads and issuing uniforms to all the learners.

Ms Kariuki is an image consultant and a NITA certified corporate trainer. For image consultancy, she first started a fashion blog www.wanjirukariuki.co.ke in 2016, which later evolved to one-on-one consultation.

She focuses on personal branding, professional and business etiquette, communication skills, image and grooming hence, the birth of Shee Image Africa.

As a mentor, Ms Kariuki understands that everyone was created for a purpose and strives to make an impact in everything she does. Passionate about the youth, she believes that if they are given the right tools and opportunities, the society will be equipped with moral values. She hopes to contribute to a society free from teen pregnancies, drug abuse, corruption and insecurities.

She has faced ups and downs in her journey. The last decade brought her to self-discovery when she realised that whatever she does impacts those around her.

“I now know that when I plant a seed, water it and give it a conducive environment to grow, it eventually germinates into a beautiful plant bearing fruits, which everyone will admire .That’s what I’m doing through my mentorship and training programmes,” she says.

Ms Kariuki applauds today’s woman for being vocal and making an impact in the society.

She admires Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja, who has curved her niche in the business world and Martha Karua who has represented women in a space that has, for the longest time, been male dominated.

She acknowledges that the government has played its part in supporting women through initiatives like the Women Enterprise Fund. She, however, says there is room for improvement. In her words, “there is so much untapped female potential. I believe if the government sets up the right procedures and strategies, this potential will be unleashed.”