MISRATA — Sepana di tangan, Asawar Mustafa, seorang pelarian Sudan wanita di Libya, memeriksa penapis minyak di bahagian garaj untuk wanita sahaja di barat Libya, di mana menjadi seorang mekanik dianggap sebagai peranan lelaki.
Itu tidak menghalang gadis berusia 22 tahun itu yang kebimbangan utamanya sehingga baru-baru ini adalah kelangsungan hidup, setelah melarikan diri dari perang di Sudan bersama keluarganya dan meninggalkan tahun terakhir pengajiannya dalam bidang farmasi.
“Pada mulanya, pengalaman itu agak sukar,” kata Asawar, yang datang ke Libya bersama empat kakak, ibu dan abangnya, yang bekerja di bahagian lelaki di garaj yang sama.
Dia berkata dia takut “membuat kesilapan dan merosakkan kereta pelanggan.” Tetapi apabila dia mengasah kemahirannya, dia menjadi “ghairah” tentang mekanik, walaupun dalam menghadapi kebencian terhadap perempuan.
Orang ramai telah memberitahu Asawar “tempat anda di rumah” dan “di dapur,” dan bahawa “ini bukan pekerjaan untuk anda,” katanya.
Tetapi wanita muda itu bertekad “tidak membiarkannya menjadi penghalang… Sebaliknya, saya melucukan bahawa seseorang akan berkata demikian tanpa mengetahui keadaan saya.”
“Saya mempunyai satu matlamat: Saya mahukan pekerjaan itu.”
Setiap hari, Asawar, memakai selendang putih dan blaus hitam, mengalu-alukan beberapa pemandu wanita dari Misrata, sebuah bandar pelabuhan besar kira-kira 200 kilometer ke timur Tripoli.
“Sungguh menggembirakan melihat wanita membuat penembusan dalam semua bidang,” termasuk mekanik, kata Fawzia Manita, seorang pelanggan.
“Semakin ramai wanita memandu di Libya dan perlu berasa selesa di tempat di mana mereka berurusan dengan wanita, sedangkan jika mereka berurusan dengan lelaki, mereka akan berasa takut,” kata wanita berusia 39 tahun itu.
Libya sedang bergelut untuk pulih daripada perang dan huru-hara selama bertahun-tahun berikutan pemberontakan yang disokong NATO pada 2011 yang menggulingkan diktator lama Muammar Qaddafi.
Memandangkan kedudukannya yang berdekatan dengan Itali, yang pulau Lampedusa paling selatan terletak kira-kira 300 kilometer jauhnya, Libya juga merupakan tempat berlepas utama bagi pendatang, pelarian dan pencari suaka, terutama dari Afrika sub-Sahara, yang mempertaruhkan perjalanan Mediterranean berbahaya untuk sampai ke Eropah.
Bulan lalu, pihak berkuasa berkata sehingga empat daripada lima warga asing di negara Afrika Utara itu tidak berdokumen.
Keluarga Mustafa meninggalkan Sudan Oktober lalu di tengah-tengah perang yang tercetus pada April 2023 antara tentera Sudan di bawah Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan dan Pasukan Sokongan Pantas (RSF) separa tentera, diketuai oleh bekas timbalannya Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Konflik itu telah menyebabkan puluhan ribu orang mati, menurut PBB. Ketika lebih daripada 10.7 juta rakyat Sudan telah kehilangan tempat tinggal, 2.3 juta telah melarikan diri ke negara jiran.
Selepas 10 hari pelayaran melalui padang pasir, Asawar tiba di Kufra, sebuah oasis di mana PBB mengatakan lebih 40,000 pelarian Sudan tinggal bersama 60,000 penduduk tempatan.
Pekan ini terletak kira-kira 1,200 kilometer (745 batu) dari Misrata, tempat Asawar akhirnya mendapat pekerjaan.
“Hari-hari itu adalah hari-hari terburuk yang pernah saya lalui,” katanya kepada AFP, tanpa mahu mengulas lanjut.
Dia enggan bercakap tentang pengalamannya mengembara dahulu ke Benghazi, di timur laut, kemudian ibu kota Tripoli, di barat, kemudian Misrata.
Di kedai pembaikan itu, dorongan abangnya yang berusia 19 tahun, Sahabi telah menjadi talian hayat.
“Saya di sini untuknya jika dia memerlukan bantuan” dan “jaminan,” kata Sahabi.
Abdelsalam Shagib, pemilik kedai berusia 32 tahun itu, turut menyokong Asawar, satu-satunya pekerja wanitanya.
Dia berkata perkhidmatan ditawarkan kepada pelanggan wanita perlu dipelbagaikan dan dikendalikan oleh lebih ramai wanita. Profesion “tidak boleh kekal dikhaskan untuk lelaki,” katanya.
“Wanita mungkin mahu bekerja dalam bidang ini,” katanya.
Menurut Bank Dunia, bahagian wanita dalam tenaga buruh di Libya mencapai 37 peratus pada 2022.
Terdapat garaj lain di Libya yang menawarkan bahagian untuk pemandu wanita, tetapi Shagib berkata dia adalah yang pertama memberikan perkhidmatan oleh seorang wanita.
“Hari ini, wanita yang datang ke sini senang berurusan dengan seorang wanita dan lebih selesa,” kata Asawar.
Dia berkata bahawa selagi “seorang wanita memiliki tekad,” tiada pekerjaan “monopoli lelaki.”
“Jika ada keinginan, anda tidak perlu teragak-agak.”
AN-AFP
Original in English
‘I wanted the job’: Sudanese woman defies Libya patriarchy as mechanic
MISRATA — Wrench in hand, Asawar Mustafa, a female Sudanese refugee in Libya, inspects an oil filter in the women-only section of a garage in western Libya, where being a mechanic is considered a man’s role.
That hasn’t deterred the 22-year-old whose main concern until recently was survival, having fled the war in Sudan with her family and abandoned her last year of studies in pharmacy.
“At first, the experience was a bit difficult,” said Asawar, who came to Libya with her four sisters, mother and brother, who works in the men’s section at the same garage.
She said she was afraid of “making mistakes and damaging the customer’s car.” But as she honed her skills, she became “passionate” about mechanics, even in the face of misogyny.
People have told Asawar “your place is at home” and “in the kitchen,” and that “this is not a job for you,” she said.
But the young woman was determined “not to let it become an obstacle… On the contrary, it was funny to me that someone would say that without knowing my circumstances.”
“I had one goal: I wanted the job.”
Each day, Asawar, wearing a white scarf and black blouse, welcomes a number of female drivers from Misrata, a large port city about 200 kilometers east of Tripoli.
“It’s great to see women making inroads in all fields,” including mechanics, said Fawzia Manita, a customer.
“More and more women are driving in Libya and need to feel comfortable in a place where they are dealing with women, whereas if they were dealing with men, they would feel intimidated,” said the 39-year-old.
Libya is struggling to recover from years of war and chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Given its proximity to Italy, whose southernmost island of Lampedusa is around 300 kilometers away, Libya is also a key departure point for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, who risk perilous Mediterranean journeys to reach Europe.
Last month, authorities said that up to four in five foreigners in the North African country were undocumented.
The Mustafas left Sudan last October amid the war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army under Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict has left tens of thousands dead, according to the UN. While more than 10.7 million Sudanese have been internally displaced, 2.3 million have fled to neighboring countries.
After a 10-day voyage through the desert, Asawar arrived in Kufra, an oasis where the UN says more than 40,000 Sudanese refugees live alongside 60,000 locals.
The town is around 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) away from Misrata, where Mostafa finally found a job.
“Those days were the worst days I’ve ever lived,” she told AFP, without wanting to elaborate.
She was reluctant to talk about her experience traveling first to Benghazi, in the northeast, then the capital Tripoli, in the west, then Misrata.
At the repair shop, the encouragement of her 19-year-old brother, Sahabi has been a lifeline.
“I’m here for her if she needs help” and “reassurance,” said Sahabi.
Abdelsalam Shagib, the 32-year-old owner of the shop, has also been supportive of Asawar, his only female employee.
He said the services offered to female clients should be diversified and conducted by more women. The profession “must not remain reserved for men,” he said.
“Women may want to work in this field,” he said.
According to the World Bank, the proportion of women in the labor force in Libya reached 37 percent in 2022.
There are other garages in Libya that offer a section for female drivers, but Shagib said his is the first to provide services by a woman.
“Today, women who come here are happy to deal with a woman and are more comfortable,” said Asawar.
She said that as long as “a woman is determined,” no job “is a man’s monopoly.”
“If the desire is there, you should not hesitate.”
AN-AFP