By: Dawda Baldeh
Reacting to perceptions on how society sees women in male-dominated industries, Fatoumata Jammeh, a 31-year-old Gambian female auto mechanic and a mother of four, said she can do the job better than most men in the Gambia.
Jammeh, who is also married to an experienced auto mechanic, said she is a woman of difference and resilience.
“I am someone who always likes to challenge men in whatever field they are into. I choose auto mechanic because I can do it better than most men,” she revealed.
The 31-year-old female auto mechanic said the belief that auto mechanic is for only men is a myth, saying women can do it.
She started her apprenticeship at Ridas for Health in 2009 at Bansang.
“When I started people laughed and mocked me, but I didn’t care because I knew what I wanted,” she mentioned.
She argued that being a female auto mechanic is not easy because some customers don’t have the understanding that women can do the job well.
According to her, some customers believe they know everything, and if you tell them anything beyond what they know they won’t agree.
Fatoumata told The Fatu Network that she created The Gambia Female Automotive Services to support females who want to become auto mechanics.
“I have seen how females suffer when they work under men. Sometimes they are sexually abused or even given tough times, and some will eventually quit the field…,” she explained.
Madam Jammed wasted no time saying she is a different mechanic with unique abilities.
“All my apprentices are going to school and sometimes I pay town trips for them because I don’t want them to miss any lectures.
I will be selfish if I don’t allow them to learn like I did when I was given the opportunity.
“We are not expensive like others, and we give quality services and assistance to our customers.
“I am a qualified female auto mechanic and I have learned the skill very well, both in class and in the field,” she added.
Fatoumata has been in the field for fourteen years and has won several awards in recognition of her work.
She encouraged women who want to become auto mechanics or any job to believe in their abilities but ignore negative stereotypes to achieve their goals.
She continued: “You cannot change society and how people see you, but you can always prove them wrong.”
Fatoumata added that women are talented and all they need is an enabling environment to explore.
She is hopeful that she will bring more females into the male-dominated auto repair industry.
Ebrima Sanyang, whose car got fixed by the female mechanic said: “I have been going to different mechanics, but my car continues having the same problems.
“When I saw the Gambia Female Automotive Services on Facebook, I contacted them and explained the problems with my car.
“I was asked to bring the car for a diagnosis, and I was thinking the price will be very high.
“But to my surprise, when they diagnosed the car and find the problems and tell me the price I was surprised because for me that price was very small compared to others.”
Mr. Sanyang added that when the female mechanic was done with his car all the problems disappeared.
“The car was not having speed but all that is solved [and] now the car is back to normal,” he narrated.
He added that when he arrived at the female mechanic’s garage, he found a lot of cars that have been in different mechanics’ garages that are run by men, but their problems got fixed at the female mechanic’s garage.
Fatoumata is appealing to the government, NGOs, philanthropists and individuals to support her to renovate her mechanic garage as the rainy season has just begun.
