‘I would like to say Happy International Women’s Day!’ said Musa. ‘And extend my gratitude and pride to all women, wherever they are. This is a day to come together and recognize all women's contributions – from mothers to workers to leaders, and to acknowledge their struggle over the decades. To strengthen our worldwide role as women, we need to access our rights to equal education and training in all fields. Education is the way to enhance the participation of women in all aspects of life.’
Musa joined the ITC in September 2010 to work on her Masters in the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Management of Geo-information & Earth Observation, but she sees far beyond her intellectual opportunities. ‘The ITC is a great environment. I find the entire world here in one place! This is my big chance to learn about different lifestyles and many different countries.’
Before coming to the Netherlands, the 28-year-old spent five years in various national councils, administrating environmental projects in Khartoum, her nation’s capital and birthplace. One of her tasks was to create a plan to help increase women’s awareness of the environment, including issues about health, energy, and education.
‘For example, we wanted to help women build their capacity and skills to conserve the environment,’ Musa said. ‘For one of our projects we designed workshops, forums, and public outreach campaigns to help educate women about alternatives for cooking. Our goal was to encourage them to use solar or gas cookers instead of coal or wood.’
Driven by her love of people and positive attitude, Musa’s work with various projects was mostly as a volunteer. ‘I hold a vision for a better future for my society, my country and myself,’ she said. ‘We all have to work towards change in the future, and this change starts from yourself.’
Speaking of future changes, in January 85 percent of southern Sudanese voters chose to become a separate nation. ‘This was a difficult decision for us,’ said Musa. ‘We have to accept the rights of others to live as they wish. But I don’t believe that splitting the country is the solution. We speak about 137 different local languages in Sudan, which reflects many different tribes and religions. I fear this might be the start of splitting the nation into many more parts.’
‘The problem in Sudan is there is no government support for the people, especially the poor. We are the most expensive country in Africa, yet our income is low. There is no social support, freedom or rights. Before this referendum, the government in Khartoum had a chance to satisfy everyone. But sadly, this chance was missed.’
Meanwhile, Musa now represents all the women at ITC and helps to promote and resolve any women’s issues that might arise during her year-long term. ‘As women, we all have different backgrounds according to our cultures. Naturally, many women at the ITC like to spend time with women from their native country.’ But Musa is the only Sudanese woman, so which group does she hang out with? ‘Oh, me?’ she laughed. ‘I go for every group!’
Since childhood Musa has loved science. ‘The environment is real!’ she said. When asked what she misses about home, she replied, ‘I miss my people. Wherever I go and see how others live in their country, like the Netherlands, I think of my people and know that we too deserve this way of life.’
‘We tend to think that women make up half of society,’ said Musa. ‘But really, we women are all of society. Everything depends on the women. We are mothers, sisters, wives. And without us, there is no society.’ (Photo: Gijs van Ouwerkerk)
