IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007 - 6

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Clementina pursued electrical engineering at the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, knowing that she could contribute to building her country's technology infrastructure and use engineering
to improve the lives of members in her
community. She spoke four languages
and was an expert in communications
and networking systems. She secured a
position at Ericsson as an engineer and
was so well respected that she was chosen to present at the United Nations.
Clementina recognized early on,
while she was a student, that joining the
IEEE was a way for her to reach beyond
the geographic boundaries and turmoil
of her country and connect with the
world. She joined the IEEE and quickly
became recognized as a wonderful volunteer, a strong leader, and a world role
model for all women.
She formed the first WIE Nigeria
Affinity Group and formed the IEEE University of Nigeria Nsukka Student
Branch Section. She was the regional
coordinator for IEEE WIE Region 8 and
was excited to be named the WIE
newsletter editor in December 2006.
She represented the voices of all
Nigerians who could not represent
themselves, and on January 2007 those
same desperate individuals that
Clementina had hoped to inspire and
encourage to pursue a better way of life
silenced her voice.
One has to wonder if these individuals will ever know or feel remorse for
her loss or for the small child who will
grow up without a mother. We have no
way of knowing if the individuals
responsible for this atrocity were driven out of desperation or just plain cruelty. In any case, the world has lost a
living star of hope.
We dedicate the IEEE Women in
Engineering Magazine to Clementina
and will continue to be her voice and let
her star continue to shine. To this end,
IEEE WIE has created the Clementina
Saduwa Memorial Scholarship for IEEE
African Women (see page 2). We shall
continue her mission to inspire and
encourage all individuals to achieve
unimaginable possibilities.
-Karen Panetta

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Page 6

preferred professions but, to a large
extent, a profession is determined by the
social getup of the region.
In a society infested by dowry, female
Why is it taboo
foeticide/infanticide, and sexual discrimifor many Indian girls?
nation, a number of factors would make
conventional parents think twice about
I remember, about two years back, at the
putting their daughters into an engineercoaching institute I attended for engiing course. I say parents "putting"
neering, that my first day out there was
because in India most kids take up coursnothing short of a nightmare! Coming
es of their parents' choices.
from a typical all-girls, disciplined conThe first factor is that engineering is
vent environment, all I saw in that classquite an expensive affair. To guardians
room were about 40 odd heads crammed
interested in getting rid of "an accident"
into the dingy classroom-of which 39
(read: daughter), spending so much on
were male! I was beyond myself with surher, when there's already the expense of
prise! Maybe it was just my class.... Nope!
dowry itself, is just not worthwhile. So
Class after class, institute after institute,
instead, a graduation course would be
same story! "Hey I just have one girl in
just adequate for getting a good groom.
my class!" or worse, "I'm the only one in
Wait, let me contradict myself somemine!" Did that mean I was among a
what. These days, many urban parents preprivileged few whose parents had let
fer to keep their daughters in a professional
them take engineering as a dream career
course. That is to say, they believe that girls
for themselves?
can earn their dowry themselves.
When I walked into Indira
Engineering happens to be
Gandhi Institute of Technolothe easiest way to earn in
gy (IGIT), an all-girls engiMost
the shortest span of
neering institute, a
engineering jobs
time possible. Then
government initiative,
are not marriage
why the meager
and the first of its kind
in India, my classmates
compatible and that, female enrollment figures? That brings us
had almost similar stoto parents, isn't
to the second problem
ries. What was worse
exactly
that parents have with
was possibly the fact that
acceptable.
engineering.
most of them from co-ed
Architecture, medical
schools had faced a two-girls
fields like gynecology, or law
per 50-boys ratio even in their
don't take a woman beyond her little cubiscience stream classrooms at school!
cle with men and don't require a woman to
When I really started thinking about
give in hours of her precious family time to
why girls were just hallucinations in
the office whereas most of the hardcore
engineering, I stumbled upon a number
engineering fields like civil or mechanical
of hidden sentiments deep down within
do. Also, most of the other professions are
my mind, which I'd overlooked before
not predominantly male oriented as is
and suddenly became so obvious. Simple
engineering. Basically, most engineering
things. Like attending the workshop
jobs are not marriage compatible and that,
practice. My neighbor said something
to parents, isn't exactly acceptable.
like-"Oh my god! Girls welding and
Another very valid concern that parsawing and doing metal work! These
ents have about their girls is the increased
things, smithy and all, that isn't a
chances of sexual harassment that are
woman's job. That's stuff men are born
identifiable with the corporate sector. They
to do!" to which I could only say "Oh
feel, and rightly so, that most if not all corplease!" but really deep down that is what
porate houses have little or no provision
most parents feel. The entire issue of few
for ensuring the safety of female employwomen in engineering as compared to
ees. Right from the parking lot of the
mass female enrollment in architecture
building to the manager's office, there is no
or medicine is not simply a matter of

Engineering a Solution

WINTER 2007/2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007