Fatma Omar Salim
“As a muslim girl with Arabian roots, It was always drilled in my head that cyber security and any engineering courses were made for the men, and women would have to be exceptional at it to be given a chance. My name is Fatma Omar Salim from Kenya, and I want you to know that if you take responsibility, you can be whoever you want to be.
I became interested in CyberSecurity after narrowly avoiding a rare form of cyberbullying at my school. Keep in mind that I was the only girl in my school year who took computer studies.
This experience with cyberbullying and the computing skills that helped me get out of the situation piqued my interest. I learned about the CyberGirls opportunity and applied. I liked CyberGirls because it was geared toward women. Acceptance into the CyberGirls Fellowship felt like the pinnacle of my existence. The bootcamp provided me with knowledge that was tailored to my understanding and changed my life. My home, my safe haven, became the CyberGirls community.
I was offered a cybersecurity job at iLab Africa at Strathmore University, after graduating from CyberGirls. In my current role, I teach Kali Linux, network security, and Governance, Risk, and Compliance. Aside from teaching these modules to my students, I occasionally get to practice penetration testing on web applications. The majority of the skills i apply in this job, came from CyberGirls.
I am a better professional and individual as a result of CyberGirls, and I am grateful to the CyberSafe Foundation for this life-changing opportunity that has empowered me for a brighter future than I could have imagined.”
