Aisha, a 19-year-old young woman living in Saham, Oman, completed her Women In Technology (WIT) training course in July 2007. Aisha holds a high school diploma, but she has had only limited experience with computers. She says that her family “always encouraged me to learn more about computers,” although none of them had ever worked in the Information Technology field. She learned about the WIT program through the Omani Women’s Association (OWA), and she recognized that the course would be important and beneficial for her educational and professional goals. With her family’s encouragement, she signed up for a WIT training course at the local OWA branch in Saham.

Aisha recognizes that the world has changed considerably since her mother was her age. “In the past, technology was not so prevalent,” Aisha says, “but now it is.” Despite the differences in their lives, she says her mother is still her role model, “because she has always guided me in my life.” In her free time, Aisha enjoys reading on various topics and traveling.

In addition to the training in Microsoft programs, the aspects of the WIT course which focused on job-searching skills were particularly helpful to Aisha, as she plans to pursue a higher degree and eventually to find a job that matches her qualifications. Her dream job would be to work as an educational program coordinator.

By learning basic IT skills like those offered through WIT, a woman can “increase her stature, advance herself and be able to help her children learn how to use computers,” Aisha says. For these reasons, she sees the WIT program as something that will be beneficial and important “to the future of all women.”

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Khadija Bent Rashed Ben Saaid Al-Adaweya

At the age of 19, Khadija is already an accomplished young woman. In addition to a high school degree, she holds an English Language certificate from Sahar University and a computer certificate from the Saham school for general education. Even with this solid educational and professional training background, Khadija continues to seek out opportunities for advancement wherever she can.

When friends and neighbors told her about the Women in Technology (WIT) program, Khadija was eager to join a training course at the local Omani Women’s Association (OWA) Saham branch. “My passion, my care for knowledge, and my hobby of using computers all motivated me to apply,” she says. Her family has always encouraged Khadija to pursue higher education, and they supported her participation in the program, agreeing that it would be personally and professionally beneficial to her.

Khadija found the training in Excel and other Microsoft programs through WIT to be particularly useful, as they have practical applications in the workplace. Now that she’s completed the program, Khadija hopes her new skills will help her to find work “that will benefit me as well as benefiting others.” Her next steps will be to earn a high-level certification in computers and to continue studying English.

Khadija believes it is important for Omani women like herself to gain skills and confidence in using computers because “women make up half of our society. We have to participate in the advancement of that society and the creation of a new generation that is capable of giving back.”

“I advise women to have a major role in society,” Khadija says. She recommends the WIT program to other Omani women for this very reason—because technology is changing the world and changing women’s lives. “I grew up in an age labeled as the ‘age of technology’”, she says. “My mother grew up in an age where this technology was missing—and in the future, my daughter will be more knowledgeable about technology than I am.”

In addition to her interest in computers, Khadija finds time to run, swim, and read about various topics that interest her. Her personal role model is her cousin, “because she struggled and faced difficulties until she achieved her goals, and she is still is striving to do more.”

As for Khadija’s own goals, she hopes to find a job as a coordinator in a school, or to work in a company in a field that interests her. She feels she has already taken a step in the right direction by taking the WIT training course. “The tips on conducting interviews were a very helpful part of the course,” she says. “I learned many things I was not aware of, which increased my self-confidence.”

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