16/05/2025
I have been admired by many for my e๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐. Thank you all. Do you know where I got this spirit from? I owe it to my ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ.
Growing up, my dad, ๐๐น๐ต๐ฎ๐ท๐ถ ๐ง๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐, was a very successful entrepreneur. He used to import motorcycles and spare parts from China. I vividly recall my time studying ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ง.๐. ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น; after each vacation, my dad would ask my ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ to accompany him to his store at ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ, to help make ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐. His shop was called '๐ง.๐. ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ.'
When his goods arrived from ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ, usually in a ๐ณ๐๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ, we often spent two to three days taking ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ and recording everything in the goods received book. We recorded ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐, ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ensured that the cash we received matched our records, and ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ by the end of each day.
These experiences allowed me to apply the ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ I learned in school to ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น-๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. Now, with the emergence of ๐ฒ-๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐, my dad ๐ป๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ. Instead, he has established reliable suppliers there and now ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ with the help of my brother.
My father always wished for me to study ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด at the university. He had a good friend who was a ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐, and whenever his friend visited, he would ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ us to pursue studies in B๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ (A๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป).
Despite not having the opportunity for a ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป himself, my ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ made it a point to provide us with the ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ.
Thanks to his ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐, he is often entrusted with ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ-๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ within our Zongo community in ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ and could ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ he managed in ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฐ.
I remember when I told him we were ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป, he was not ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ because he believed I could still thrive in my ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐. However, as ๐ ๐๐๐น๐ถ๐บ๐, we understand that ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ in such matters are often made by our ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐. He only ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฒ and wished me well.
Now, regarding my ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, Fuad Mohammed, he was also involved in ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ and working with the ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ before we got ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ. He possesses a keen ability for ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป-๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด and has always had an ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐. I had become quite ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ and ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ, but he encouraged me to always think ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐
and be open minded to ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
When we ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐, he entrusted me with ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ in managing it. Often, when I faced a ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ and sought his ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ, he would encourage me to ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ, even if he knew the answer. Initially, this process felt ๐ณ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, but over time, I have grown accustomed to navigating through such ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐.
As a result of my ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, I now offer ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐น๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ who want to enhance their ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ and achieve ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
The influence of these ๐๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป in my life cannot be ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. As women, we often find ourselves under the guidance of ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐. I firmly believe that if a woman is ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ enough to fall under the care of a husband who does not ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐, it can lead to the ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐.
My father ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ reminds me never to give up on my ๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ whenever we speak on the phone. He expresses a desire to see ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ before ๐๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ต calls him home. He also reminds me that, because I was born in the month of ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, both sacred month and day in the lives of muslims, he named me "๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฎ" ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ "๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ณ๐๐น ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ".
If you happen to know ๐บ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฑ, please let him know that I am determined to ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ with the help of ๐๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐๐ป๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ต. May Allah grant our parents long lives to witness our achievements, Insha Allah.
With ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐, women can conquer their ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น.
Faiza Ahmed,
London, United Kingdom.
