2006年VOA标准英语-Young African Women Get Taste of Male-Dominated

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
20 December 2006

In Senegal, a non-governmental organization is trying to get young street girls jobs in male-dominated fields. The organizer of this project says it creates female empowerment and breaks down gender¹ stereotypes². VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Dakar in this the third part in a five-part series on prospects³ and challenges for young women in Africa.

 
Anta Ndiaye wants to be a glass cutter
Anta Ndiaye is learning to be a glass cutter. She is 22 and has been out of school for six years. Now she is an apprentice⁴ at a window frame designer called Darou Salam Service.

With a construction boom going on in Dakar, business is brisk.

"I used to be an idle girl, just walking around the neighborhood doing nothing," she says. "But I love this job. Even on Sundays, which is my day off, I feel like coming in to work. If I start making money, I want to have my own workshop and employ other women to work with me."

 
Soukeina Diagne wants to be an auto⁵ mechanic
Soukeyna Diagne is 18. She dropped out of school when she was 11. She is now an apprentice mechanic.

"Things are going well," she says. " Initially⁶, people were looking at me a bit funny, because this is not where you usually find a young woman like me. But I am determined⁷ to succeed. I also want my own workshop. I know everything in the beginning will be difficult but I am confident one day I can start something of my own just like any successful man."

The two young women are beneficiaries of a non-government organization, called "Case des Jeunes Femmes", led by Aminata Dieye. She tries to empower former prostitutes, school dropouts and single mothers.

"There has been so much ignorance. People think women can just learn to cook or look for a husband. They think they can just be hairdressers or seamstresses. Young African women need to realize they can also work in fields dominated by men," she says. "I think mentalities⁸ are changing slowly."

She says these women can inspire others, even as they face ridicule⁹ from members of their own families, caused by gender stereotypes so prevalent in Africa.

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

5 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 mentalities   

n.心态( mentality的名词复数 )；思想方法；智力；智能

参考例句：

• Paterfamilias mentalities are important factors to affect childrens rehabilitation. 家长心理是影响聋儿康复效果的重要因素。 来自互联网
• All of us, genius included, think on the base of the mentalities are already known. 我们大家，包括的天才，在已经被知道的脑力的底上想。 来自互联网

9 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。