A thorough investigative report, have given an insight into the untold s*xual harassment some of Nigerian marine women officers go through in the hands of their bosses, the revelations were quite startling.
Nigerian marine women officers
After a two-hour interview with the middle-aged dark-complexioned
man in his office on Victoria Island, Lagos, Sarah Abiodun, a marine
engineer, thought she had secured a job with the shipping company.
“He told me I performed excellently. I felt good. I also knew I
did. I was well prepared for the interview. I have what any shipping
company could be looking for. I have the needed quality, skill and
certification to excel on the job,” she said.
But within few minutes after the interview, her optimism turned
sour. She would later learn that getting a job at the company was not
just about performing well at an interview.
She said, “He said I needed to come and spend one weekend with
him at a posh hotel in Lekki. I asked him what that was all about. He
replied, ‘Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m asking for. You are not a
kid. You have all it takes to work here.’ I was heartbroken. I knew I
had lost the job right there because I wouldn’t sleep with a man to get
any job in my life.”
Abiodun left sorrowfully that day, but few days later, she got
another call for an interview at a shipping firm in Apapa, where there
are a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports
Authority and commercial offices of many shipping, clearing and
transportation companies.
“After the interview, my interviewer wanted us to have s*x right there in his office. I had to take to my heels immediately,” she said.
Since then, Abiodun, who was trained at the Arab Academy for
Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt, has
been worried whether she would be able to practise her profession.
“They are always asking for s*x before they would employ me and I’m tired. I have friends who are experiencing the same thing,” she lamented.
Apart from s*xual harassment, Abiodun said she had also been facing
gender discrimination by some shipping companies who said they wouldn’t
employ her because she is a woman.
She said, “Other companies I’ve applied to, they told me it was
their policy not to employ women. This gender discrimination started
when I was in school. Some lecturers treated us as equals to men.
However, I was surprised that while doing some courses and
certifications, some lecturers asked us what we women were doing in the
academy.
“But the question that usually popped in my mind was why did
they admit us in the first place? Didn’t they see that we were women?
While going for job interviews, I am surprised that this question always
comes up. Why do shipping firms discriminate against us? If I don’t
work, my certificate will expire in January 2017 and I have to renew it.
But how can I renew it when I have not yet started working and don’t
have money?”
Abiodun is even more bothered because even though she has not yet
started working, she has started facing sexual harassment and gender
discrimination. “What will now happen when I finally secure a job?” she asked.
Nigerian marine women officers
Lizzy Akunna, a fair-complexioned ship captain, has gone through this route before.
In 2009 when she was a deck cadet and worked longer and harder than
her male colleagues, it wasn’t because she liked it. It was a way of
being punished for refusing to date her male boss on-board.
She said, “I’ve experienced s*xual harassment on-board. It is
not something to wish for, but it’s something you cannot escape. In 2009
when I experienced it, I resisted it. To punish me, my boss who asked
me out gave me more work to do. I was supposed to finish work by 4am
daily, but he would extend it by two hours to make me work longer. But I
wouldn’t complain.
“I did all he asked. I could not report to the ship captain
because he too was interested in me. I told my female colleagues and
they encouraged me not to succumb to the pressure. If I wanted to date
my captain or any other boss, I could have, but I would lose my virtue
and wouldn’t be able to use my initiatives again.
“Imagine dating a boss, he would not want to give me work to do
and I would just be idle on-board, but in the long run, I would not
improve on my career. When I’m on-board, I’m not here to look for men.”
Now a ship captain, Akunna said if she had not stood her ground,
she would not have been able to be who she is today. However, gender
discrimination is another challenge she has been facing.
She said, “Discrimination has always been there. When I was
looking for job, among all the applicants, only two of us were females.
When it was time for the interview, the company officials looked at us
annoyingly as if we were dumbheads. One of them even asked us, ‘Are you
sure you’re going to pass this interview?’ But we proved them wrong.
“Both of us ladies were the best. Up till now, we ladies do
more to prove them wrong. When I was a cadet, they used me. I worked
very hard. When some people see me today, they think I’m a pampered girl
because of the way I look, but if you see my hands, you will know that
it’s not easy. I carried hammer and all sorts of tools. There is no tool
I cannot use.”
Asked how life on the sea has been, Akunna said, “Not easy, but
when you do what you love, it’s easy. My family can’t sometimes reach
me because when I’m on the sea, there might not be network to make or
receive calls. But I have a supportive family who understands what it’s
like to pursue your passion.”
This feeling is also what has kept Uche Okocha, a ship captain,
going even in the face of sexual harassment and gender discrimination
since 11 years ago when she started her career. Despite all these,
Okocha said she had found the strength to overcome intimidation by men.
She said, “My job deals with the movement of cargo and people
from place to place and the maintenance of ship. I’ve been at sea since
2005 and I started my career with a company called Genesis Worldwide. I
can say that was the only company that was willing to accept female
seafarers then. In fact, the owner of the company was passionate about
getting women employed as long as they’re qualified. He used to
encourage us and monitor us to excel just like men.
“I searched for jobs at almost all the shipping firms at Apapa.
Some of the companies told us outright that they could not employ women
because of petty reasons. They said women were troublesome. They said
they didn’t want women problems. Some said there were no facilities on
board their vessels for women, which is true. There are some vessels
which are small and have no facilities to cater for women needs.
“Talking about being intimidated by men, I’ve never felt
intimidated. I do my work properly and I’m passionate about it. This is a
profession whereby you can come in as a low-level person, but with hard
work and promotion, you can get to the top, whether men love or hate
you. Imagine having 50 men being under you, there could be some level of
intimidation, but you should be able to manage it. It’s one of those
industries you would enjoy to work in.”
45-year-old Stella Okponya, one of the first female captains in the
country who has been on the job for 20 years, says sexual harassment
and intimidation by male colleagues are not strange to her.
She said, “Yes, you cannot rule it out. Men ask us out, but it
depends on the lady seafarer to know what she wants. There are some men
who cannot see somebody in skirt. They must chase her. There was an
experience I went through when I was starting my career. There was a
particular expatriate captain who said I was rude because I didn’t
succumb to him sleeping with me. But then, I had started seeing myself
as a man.
“He tried to cook up some allegations that I was lazy, stubborn
and didn’t listen to instructions. Meanwhile, my hard work was there
for everyone to see. Eventually, his allegations were thrown out.”
Okponya, whose father was a ship captain, also shared a recent experience of gender discrimination with our correspondent.
She said, “The discrimination is always there and currently I’m
experiencing one. In the company where I work, I’ve been running a
vessel for a year. But recently, a firm run by the whites came to
Nigeria to merge with our firm. But instead of them to let me continue
running the vessel, they have given it to a male captain and I’m unhappy
about it. I saw it as discriminatory.
“I’m not angry with the new captain, but with my employer who
couldn’t convince them that I could run the vessel. Maybe he didn’t have
the confidence to convince them that I could run it. But I’ve been
running a vessel with my crew successfully and there has been no problem
whatsoever. He’s seen me move the ship. His position made me feel
incompetent. I would like the concerned agencies to look into cases of
gender discrimination and put up policies to support us women.”
Narrating how she’s been able to run her family and being a captain, she said,
“Before I got married, I used to sail across international waters, but
now, I only sail across national waters. I also cook food not easier for
my maid to cook and preserve in the freezer. My husband is also
understanding and has been very supportive.
“In a male-dominated industry like ours, women are bound to
meet challenges and they should be ready to work 10 times harder than
men to prove themselves. If they have menstrual pain, they shouldn’t lie
down. I remember there was a time when I was just starting my career
and I complained of menstrual pain, but the American captain I was
working with told me I shouldn’t lie down.
“He walked to his cabin and brought out some medicine. I was
surprised. After taking the medicine, I was okay. His action inspired me
that day. I was strong thereafter and I’ve always been strong. I always
tell female seafarers to see themselves as men. They should stay
focussed. However, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety
Agency needs to do a lot, especially for the upcoming ones.”
If NIMASA had done a lot, perhaps Sherifat Jimba, 27, who schooled
at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport,
Alexandria, Egypt, would have been able to secure a job, but she has yet
to due to gender discrimination.
While in Egypt, she was employed as a deck cadet at a shipping
firm, but since returning to the country, most companies she had applied
to said they would not employ her simply because she’s a woman.
“They said they were not looking for women seafarers. Some said
the timing is wrong due to pirate attacks.. Meanwhile, my certificate
will expire next year. With this discrimination, how will I pursue my
passion?” she asked.
For women seafarers who have been able to overcome this challenge
and are now employed, working on-board with male colleagues is yet
another challenge.
Lola Isidaome, a ship mate whose job entails safety operations in cargo, says
“People see us women as unable to do the job, but I’ve always proved
them wrong. I let them know that women can do the impossible. However,
in order to do this, we work harder than our male colleagues. We do
more.
“Women seafarers are focussed. Everyone thinks being a female
means you cannot do the job. But with discipline, which is my watchword,
we can. I’m the only female on the vessel I work with right now, and I
thank God the company has a strong policy against s*xual harassment.”
Mariam Hassan, a marine engineer who works as a ship maintenance
and safety officer, would have long quit if she had also succumbed to
intimidation by male colleagues on-board.
“Discipline and knowing what you want is key. I started as a
cadet in 2009 and now I’m an officer. I am respected. It’s a job I
signed on for and love doing. I’ve enjoyed every company I worked with,” she said.
Meanwhile, a shipping company owner at Apapa, who pleaded
anonymity, told our correspondent that it was out of pity that his
company doesn’t employ female seafarers.
“The job is risky and I don’t think women should be there,
especially in this country where pirates attack is the highest in the
Gulf of Guinea. Some of the women we’ve employed in the past used to
complain of poor welfare, no special facilities for them on-board, and
so on. I got tired of these complaints along the line and that’s why I
stopped hiring women,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Marine Professionals of Nigeria,
Oluwasegun Akanbi, said female seafarers are encouraged to report cases
of s*xual harassment to the female captains on-board, while raising the
alarm over the “gradual extinction of female seafarers in the maritime sector.”
He said, “Presently, there are no policies by NIMASA to guard
against sexual harassment and gender discrimination of female seafarers.
Even if there are, some of these policies are just theoretical. There
is no implementation.
“NIMASA needs to make it mandatory for companies to employ
female seafarers. Provisions should also be made for females on-board.
Also, procedure for reporting, investigating and disciplining must be
clearly stated to checkmate sexual harassment. The gap of communication
between the seafarers and NIMASA is too wide. They should create a
feedback forum with us to identify some problems we are facing so as to
create a continuous improvement.”
The spokesperson for NIMASA, Mrs. Lami Tumaka, said women seafarers
experiencing any form of sexual harassment and gender discrimination
should not hesitate to report to the agency. “We already have policies guarding against these practices and they are being effected,” she said.
Culled from: Punch Newspaper
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