The Sunday News
Yoliswa Dube
AS a young wife and novice professional, Professor Londiwe Nkiwane, chairperson of the textile technology department at the National University of Science and Technology had some tough decisions to make. She wanted it all — children, a happy marriage and a successful career. But there was a price to pay, only for a season, just until the storm was over and a rainbow was out in full colour. She chose to leave her young children and husband behind in pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of her career.
Prof Nkiwane had to keep her eyes on the ball to make sure her endeavours were fruitful. Having to enlist the help of her mother-in-law to raise her first child, Prof Nkiwane was beyond determined to succeed. Her zeal for knowledge and the need to get ahead kept her going. Nothing would stop her.
Not even the birth of her second child who she again had to leave at home in order to forge ahead. She calls this child her “husband’s baby” because he had to take care of him while she worked on getting ahead.
“My husband took care of the children most of the time — he literally raised my first two kids. In fact, I call my first child my mother-in-law’s and the second my husband’s,” said the soft-spoken associate professor.
She admits not many men would agree to do this.
“My husband has been supportive throughout my journey. His name should actually be on my certificates. I’m blessed to have such a supportive man for a husband.”
It all started after a lectureship position opened at the University of Zimbabwe, and Prof Nkiwane had to leave her teaching job at Ihlathi Secondary School where she taught Mathematics.
“I’d gone overseas when I was very young with only my O-levels. I did my A-levels there and later enrolled for a degree in textile engineering at Jassy University of Technology in Romania. I immediately did my Masters after my first degree. This is also where I met my husband,” said Prof Nkiwane.
She eventually came to Zimbabwe in 1984 and got a teaching job at Ihlathi Secondary School before moving to the University of Zimbabwe where she worked as a textile science lecturer.
Prof Nkiwane had to leave her daughter, who was only a toddler at the time, to take up the lectureship position in Harare. She would travel to Bulawayo every weekend to visit her family.
“I’d see accidents along the way and always thought that could’ve been me. I’d always think I could’ve been in that car that just had an accident. It’s by God’s grace that I’m here now.”
While in the capital, an opportunity to travel to Sweden for a second Masters programme arose and she took it. She studied textile and clothing education.
“By then, I had my second child who I again had to leave behind. I came back to Zimbabwe after I’d completed the programme. Not too long after, Nust advertised that they wanted people to start the department.
“As a textile engineer, I was best suited for the job and came here. I started at Nust in 1999 — that’s the year we had our first intake. I’ve been here from the beginning,” said Prof Nkiwane.
That was not the end of it. There was no pleasing her. She still wanted more so she kept going. Prof Nkiwane enrolled at the University of Leeds for a doctorate degree. This time, she took her family with her and welcomed another member to the family while she was there. Her third child was born.
“It was difficult trying to do a PhD and taking care of the children at the same time. A lot of hard work went into making sure everything worked. I eventually finished and came back to Zimbabwe despite other job offers there.”
She came back to be the only female lecturer in the department. Even as she taught, she said, there would be at most only two girls in a class of about 15.
“This always bothered me and I really wanted to see more girls studying sciences,” said Prof Nkiwane.
It was not long before this burden was lifted from her shoulders and something could be done to encourage more girls to study sciences. She got involved with Women Engineers and Girl Scientists in Africa, an international organisation seeking to mentor girls and women.
“We speak to girls as young as 12 in different schools to encourage them to take up sciences. We show them that there are girls who are engineers out there. We’re not inferior to men,” said Prof Nkiwane.
Aside from this organisation, she and other women including Dr Thembi Ncube have continued to mentor women all over.
“Thembi suggested that we uplift women ourselves. We’ve simply said men have written and they’ve advanced their careers, why can’t we do the same? We interact with women, come together and say let’s write and we do just that,” she said.
The more you become educated, Prof Nkiwane said, the more ignorant you feel and the more you want to learn.
“After my first Masters degree, I wanted to share knowledge. You don’t impart knowledge to students only — communities and the nation as a whole need to benefit from your knowledge.”
With only five more papers to publish, Prof Nkiwane has not forgotten she has a role to play in the home. She still wakes up early in the morning to make breakfast for her family and gets home in time to prepare dinner.
Success has not blurred the lines although she insists that when a woman holds a position of influence, she devotes her everything to succeed. She just can’t sit around and wait for the rain — she gets herself busy to make sure the work of her hands is fruitful.
A woman can do whatever it takes to succeed, even in a male dominated field and be at equal stead with her male counterpart.
Even if it means leaving her young children behind and embarking on a quest for knowledge and consequently the advancement of her career — whatever it takes to succeed. She will even go beyond borders without her husband, attracting scorn from many.
“If you really want something, you’ll have the zeal to work for it — never mind where the energy will come from.”
