How this father shows that no job’s just a man’s job
Hushed whispers and loud taunts had followed them all the way from their home to the dingy repair shop for electronic appliances in Qasba Colony.
As Naseeb Jamal, who ran the shop, left the house with his two daughters, aged four and six years, his mother didn’t shy away from questioning his decision. Who in their right mind would think of training their daughters for repairing electronics?
To his elderly mother, it was an outrageous step and surely, it was not women’s job to run a business.
Making his way through the narrow alley with his daughters, Jamal realised it was not just his mother who thought so. Many others did as well.
But he was not deterred. He stuck to his decision of passing on his skills to his daughters - all eight of them. And now, many years later, six of them are proficient in repairing electronics.
“This is the way to strengthen women. They should not just be educated, but skilled as well,” he said, taking pride in his daughters’ abilities. “If they are skilled, they would bring more pride to their parents than any son.”
He himself has been associated with the business for the past 20 years, during which he hasn’t just managed to impart a useful skillset to his children, but also challenged gender roles and discrimination.
He recalled he was first moved to rebel against the norms that kept females from acquiring education and progressing when relatives expressed pity over his daughters’ birth.
“But why should there be any difference between a daughter and a son?” the thought nagged him, until he decided he would not let his children fall prey to this “conservative mindset.”
The next day, he headed to his shop with his two elder daughters. He would teach them all he could to assure their independence.
This was the start of a years-long struggle, where he would have to fight for his children on many fronts, with his family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and strangers.
“People would gossip, calling me a rebel. Even my mother said to me that what I was doing was not in line with our traditions and that it was not good for girls to sit at the shop,” he related. However, Jamal was unbothered. He was more focused on equipping his daughters with these skills.
By the time they were teenagers, they had developed an expertise in repairing electronics. Meanwhile, the two sisters younger than them would look at them in amazement as they made repairs at home. Their interest was piqued and they had some idea about the work. Their skills just needed some honing.
So, as the elder ones stopped accompanying Jamal, the younger two would tag along. And the legacy continues, with all of his daughters following in their footsteps.
“Whenever a customer expresses awe at their skill, my face glows with pride,” smiled Jamal, his eyes twinkling.
“On school days, they attend classes in the morning and come to the shop at 1pm. They work with me until 9pm, before calling it a day,” he elaborated.
Seeing his daughters working, he is also of the opinion that girls are better learners and better able to focus on the task at hand.
His efforts have borne fruit and, he said, many ask him to train their daughters as well.
“But the shop is too small,” he pointed out, stressing that the government and other relevant bodies needed to set up institutes for providing technical training to girls.
Though it’s Jamal’s dream to establish a training centre where he can impart his skills to girls for free, he doesn’t have enough resources. There is this, and the regret that he wasn’t able to get his eldest daughter educated.
“She is married, though, and her in-laws praise her for her valuable skills,” he said, adding that he was determined to get his remaining daughters educated. “It is another dream that they study engineering.”
However, with his limited income, he has little hope of bringing it to fruition. But the more pleasing reality of his daughters brining pride to the family comes as a source of solace.
“My relatives cannot stop praising them and even their grandmother is now proud of them,” he beamed. “People even give their example to their children, often bringing them to my shop.”
To him, even as many of his dreams are likely to remain just that - dreams - this is his greatest accomplishment.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2020