Arc. Amina Ahmed

Arc. Amina Ahmed

As a teacher, I usually go to school very early, so that I'll finish in good time. Then I'll come home to attend to other things. But usually, what I've found out in the past ten years, honestly, you don't have time for any other thing.

You work from as early as 9, 10 till 5, 6, sometimes even more. Sometimes you have to sleep in the school. So, unless the school is closed, you actually do not have time for anything, honestly.

It's very difficult to create time for any other thing. Because the population of the children keeps growing, and architecture being so interpersonal, you have to discuss with each child to understand what the child wants to come up with, and then guide the child accordingly. So, it becomes very, very, very difficult, honestly.

For my profession, architecture, women that are architects are always respected. That is what I have noticed. They are always respected. So, we don't have much issues in Northern Nigeria being architects. In fact, it's a lot of respect.

One of the biggest challenges that women face teaching in the built environment is that it doesn't give you time at all.

Example of my school it’s either we are lecturing, at the same time we are marking exams, at the same time we are getting ready with designs, same time we are going for presentations. And before you finish all that, the session has started again, or the semester is starting again. So, in my department, we work from January to December. We don't have a break, except if there is an ASUU strike and the university closes down, but for as long as the school is in session. Because the holidays are usually two weeks. And at that time, we were struggling with design, marking design, and getting ready for presentations. So, that is the, you know, it doesn't give you time at all. You are always working.

I wish to share, I wish that you could control the number of students coming to read architecture. I wish you could have more teachers, so that we would have fewer schedules. I wish the environment would be more comfortable. I wish the employers of teachers or lecturers would know that there is difference between teaching architecture and teaching medicine, for example. And then probably paid accordingly, because a time will come when people will not want to teach architecture. Because you make more money when you are not in the academic environment. Then So, I wish that all this nitty-gritty would be put in place, so that teaching would be more comfortable and more rewarding. Right now, teaching architecture is far from rewarding. Far from rewarding. Thank you so much.

Well, the field is wide and big. And women have special place, especially because they are more kind. Well women are kinder or seem to be kinder.

When there’s a difficult task for students to learn, so, if you have a more understanding parent or teacher, being a woman, it will be double advantage. But the field is wide for everybody.

There is nothing not good for women to be teachers. If I have opportunity to be a teacher again, come again in another life, I will still pick up this profession. There is nothing more interesting or sweeter than passing knowledge, for a profession as important as architecture.

When it comes to gender, I mean, ethnicity, my dad is a Fulani man. We were born and raised in Kano. But he has little or nothing to do with the display of being a lecturer in architecture. The only feeling you get is probably respect from people. But later on, when there are more architects, the respect is [inaudible].

I have learnt over time that the best way to avoid challenge in my place of work is to avoid response. To avoid response. Because you see people so desperate because probably you are a woman. And the culture requires that women should be more tolerant. So, the best way is just to avoid response. Keep avoiding response until the other party gets tired.

My experience is that there is no difference between gender working in the built environment. What a man is given is exactly what a woman is given. In fact, there is no difference between gender, age, or demography. It really does not matter. We do almost the same thing, the same work.

The reason why I took up employment in the built environment is to pass knowledge. The first reason is to pass knowledge. And initially, we were informed that as teachers, we will have more time to our families. At that time, my children were growing up, so I needed a job that would give me more time. But it turned out not to be like that. After some time, like 20 years now, you give more time in the teaching of architecture than if you were practicing architecture. Either as a civil servant or as a professional on your own.

Long-term goals would be to carefully hand over or pass on to the younger generation so that we do not break the chain in teaching and learning architecture. That is one of the long-term goals, my personal long-term goal as a teacher.

Honestly, because it is mainly a male-dominated profession, little is given differently to the woman in the field. So sometimes, even little things like conveniences and so on, hardly do they put a side for women.

And then, because you are seen to be a man, if you are an architect working, for example, in a school, you are seen the same as all teachers. Sometimes you get yourselves, you get into disagreements that are unnecessary. Very petty disagreements. Sometimes women appear to be more comfortable and they are seen as maybe a little bit disliked by the male counterparts. But there is no special kindness or, let me not use the word respect. There is nothing so special that you get from [inaudible].

Why? I don't know specifically because women are the ones that do not want to be discriminated against or often by the... But it would be good if, for example, time would be given, all the other issues like child-rearing and so on. If you’ll be given courses that you will be able to run easily so that you can take care of your family. It doesn’t, it makes little sense if you go out to solve a problem and create the same problem onto your family. Gradually you will see that women do not want to become teachers in architecture, for example. But if we run a gender non-biased setting where men and women are seen equal, of course men and women are not equal.

Maybe they are equal in terms of capacity, brain capacity. But then physical issues and then their callings, traditional callings are different. So if this will be looked upon and women will be given courses that will allow them to come home and do their other traditional roles. Because invariably if you do not raise the children well, later in life they’ll become problem to the teacher.

Anyone that wants to take up working in the built environment as a teacher, I would promote the person. Because I know there are so many good times. It's a wonderful feeling when you work with the students. It's always a wonderful feeling. Even if you don't have a perfect relationship with the employer, you always have a very good relationship with the students.