In Nigeria, being a car mechanic has always been seen as a man’s job but these young women are breaking the stereotype and taking over.
After Joy Osaruyi left secondary school in Benin, Edo state, money was tight and her family could not afford to send her on to university.
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While other girls in her situation took up training in hair-dressing and tailoring, stereotypical trades for women, the tomboy showed interest instead in repairing cars. She was trained at a garage with one other girl and seven boys.
Joy Osaruyi, a proud lady mechanic.
These days, she plies her trade in Lugbe, Abuja, where she is the lead mechanic at the Total fuel station there.
“It’s a dirty job,” she notes, “but it’s fun and it pays.”
Joy at work.
Standing at a diminutive five feet three inches, it is easy for potential customers to underestimate the young lady mechanic, but Joy does not see this as one of her main challenges as she always ends up proving herself. Rather, it is the men who come on to her that pose a possible hiccup to the lady who would prefer to be taken seriously as a professional in her chosen field.
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Still, with time and experience she has learnt to brush off such unwanted advances, choosing instead to take a pragmatic outlook: Definitely, you would jam such situations in a male-dominated job.”
Blessing Johnson knows her business.
Blessing Johnson’s story is not so different. She is the only mechanic at a Conoil filling station along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway in the capital city. She had the same struggles and similar challenges but
Confident in her capabilities, she says all she and any other lady mechanic need is encouragement from the government.
“If I can get a piece land where I can open my own garage, I would be glad to train other girls,” she says.
Dorcas John
Dorcas John from Kaduna state is a former footballer. She played in her state’s female team and even trained with the national team. After, getting injured , she decided to try her hand on some other trade and a friend took her to mechanic workshop.
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Unlike the other two who largely work with engines, she specialises in wheel alignment and balancing, oil change and all the other processes required to “service” your car.
Dorcas John at work
She has no problem doing such a “dirty” job and sees herself as equal if maybe superior to the men she works with – she currently trains three guys.
She also seeks government or private assistance: “They should help us. We women, we are not lazy anymore.”
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She emphasises that working in garage has nothing to do with one’s gender. She encourages more girls to join her, Joy and Blessing in this fun trade.
The overall says it all.
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