The Sunday Mail
Emmanuel Kafe
TOMORROW, Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day.
However, this year’s celebrations will be unusual.
Women from all walks of life will not be able to gather and commemorate the day, due to the raging coronavirus pandemic, which continues to affect every corner of the globe.
But virtual celebrations will still be held.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on March 8. This year’s campaign is running under the theme #ChooseToChallenge.
It is based on the idea that a challenged world is an alert world and individually, we are responsible for our own thoughts and actions.
“We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world,” the campaign states.
It is against this background that this week we focus on a group of women that have broken barriers in a male-dominated automobile repair industry.
Situated in downtown Harare, Tee’s Auto Services is not your usual workshop.
Founded by 28-year-old Tarisai Pendo, an automotive mechanical engineer, the garage has a conscious bias towards empowering women.
“Replacing a flat wheel on a vehicle is easy, but changing perception towards women’s place in society is difficult,” reckons Pendo.
Always clad in navy blue overalls at work, the women are out to make a bold statement.
Boss lady . . . Tarisai Pendo at work
“My friends and family used to laugh each time they saw my hands covered with grease. It was the same when they saw me wearing overalls or coveralls when I started my garage in 2015,” she recounts.
“Even my male counterparts would sometimes try to intimidate me at work. But I am a go-getter. I never let anything deter me from attaining my dream of becoming one of the most successful female mechanics in the country.”
Initially, Pendo secured a vacancy as a student nurse but opted to pursue her dream in the automotive mechanical engineering field.
“I had a passion for cars and always wanted to be a lady mechanic. I have further broadened the dream by bringing fellow women on board,” she said.
Her all-female workshop has specialists for every service required on automobiles.
“I started with four employees, all female, but I hope to keep growing the figure as our workshop expands its operations. We also have female students that are coming for internship,” she said.
When the Sunday Mail visited the workshop, women of slightly different age groups were seen either doing brake pads, wheel alignment or checking engines.
They shared their stories.
“I saw this woman (Pendo) passionately talking about her business on television and I knew I wanted to be just like her,” narrated 29-year-old Milcah Shinhiwa.
Her father wanted her to be a laboratory technician.
“My father wanted something else for me but I could not resist the grease and spanner calls,” she said with a chuckle.
“Working as a mechanic has always been my ambition. However, the journey has been bumpy. Friends, family and other members of the public used to laugh at me. At some point, it affected me. But I have since developed a thick skin. If you are shy or timid, a garage would be the wrong place to work.”
Shinhiwa believes women have what it takes to dominate in the trade.
Her colleague, Ruth Mukori, who specialises in heavy vehicles swiftly weighs in.
“It was difficult for me to get a job in an industry we are looked down upon. I grew up loving cars, but I chose to become a mechanic as a challenge. A challenge to men who say some jobs and skills are only exclusive to them,” revealed Mukori.
Today, Ruth looks back at her work with pride. “Most female motorists I attend to feel better leaving their cars in the hands of a fellow female.”
Clients speak
A regular client at Tee’s Auto Services Mr Jonathan Ngorima said his vehicles were previously repaired and serviced by male mechanics until he tried the all-female garage.
“Ladies pay attention to detail and that makes them better than their male colleagues that are stubborn and at times reckless. Besides, most women are reliable and easy to trust with your car,” he said.
Family
As a mother of one, Pendo she never neglects her duties back home.
“The kitchen is my place of joy, no matter how tired I am. I always make sure that I properly take care of my family and give them due attention,” she said.
Pendo urges fellow women never to be discouraged by naysayers.
“At the end of the day, if it’s something that you enjoy, nothing else should interfere with that. Concentrate on what you want, then go and get it.”
Around the world, and Africa in particular cultural expectations and gender stereotypes often prevent girls and women from reaching their full potential.
In many developing countries, girls and women are denied an education. Some are even forced into arranged marriages.
