16/05/2025
I have been admired by many for my e𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁. Thank you all. Do you know where I got this spirit from? I owe it to my 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱.
Growing up, my dad, 𝗔𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗷𝗶 𝗧𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘇, was a very successful entrepreneur. He used to import motorcycles and spare parts from China. I vividly recall my time studying 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗧.𝗜. 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘆𝘆𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹; after each vacation, my dad would ask my 𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 to accompany him to his store at 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗿, 𝗞𝘂𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗶, to help make 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀. His shop was called '𝗧.𝗝. 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲.'
When his goods arrived from 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮, usually in a 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿, we often spent two to three days taking 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 and recording everything in the goods received book. We recorded 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, ensured that the cash we received matched our records, and 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 by the end of each day.
These experiences allowed me to apply the 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 I learned in school to 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Now, with the emergence of 𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, my dad 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮. Instead, he has established reliable suppliers there and now 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 with the help of my brother.
My father always wished for me to study 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 at the university. He had a good friend who was a 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁, and whenever his friend visited, he would 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 us to pursue studies in B𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 (A𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻).
Despite not having the opportunity for a 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 himself, my 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 made it a point to provide us with the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.
Thanks to his 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, he is often entrusted with 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 within our Zongo community in 𝗞𝘂𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗶 and could 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 he managed in 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰.
I remember when I told him we were 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, he was not 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 because he believed I could still thrive in my 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆. However, as 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺𝘀, we understand that 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 in such matters are often made by our 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀. He only 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 and wished me well.
Now, regarding my 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱, Fuad Mohammed, he was also involved in 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 and working with the 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱 before we got 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱. He possesses a keen ability for 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 and has always had an 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁. I had become quite 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 and 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿, but he encouraged me to always think 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘅 and be open minded to 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.
When we 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞, he entrusted me with 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 in managing it. Often, when I faced a 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 and sought his 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲, he would encourage me to 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, even if he knew the answer. Initially, this process felt 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, but over time, I have grown accustomed to navigating through such 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀.
As a result of my 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, I now offer 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 who want to enhance their 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and achieve 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
The influence of these 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻 in my life cannot be 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱. As women, we often find ourselves under the guidance of 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀. I firmly believe that if a woman is 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 enough to fall under the care of a husband who does not 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀, it can lead to the 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
My father 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 reminds me never to give up on my 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 whenever we speak on the phone. He expresses a desire to see 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 before 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 calls him home. He also reminds me that, because I was born in the month of 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, both sacred month and day in the lives of muslims, he named me "𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘇𝗮" 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲".
If you happen to know 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝗱, please let him know that I am determined to 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 with the help of 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵. May Allah grant our parents long lives to witness our achievements, Insha Allah.
With 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, women can conquer their 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹.
Faiza Ahmed,
London, United Kingdom.
