Rahab Durkwa
“I wish all women knew how much more we can be if only we had the right opportunity, mentorship, and a positive mindset like I did,” Rahab said.
This profound quote from Rahab, with zero edits from me, reminds me of Leila Janah’s popular quote, “talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not”. This is the foundation upon which CyberGirls was founded and continues to exist.
Rahab Durkwa is an Economics graduate and alumna of our first cohort of CyberGirls in Nigeria’s Northern state of Adamawa. Where she comes from, cybersecurity and technology in general are not typical career paths for women. Young ladies typically complete high school or university, marry, and then move on.
Rahab desired more for herself, including a family and a thriving career in hashtag#cybersecurity. Even as the reality of the biases piled up against her, Rahab bravely explored her potentials by grabbing the proverbial CyberGirls rope. We provided access to a laptop (both during and after the fellowship), internet, learning resources, weekly transportation stipend and global mentorship.
“Everyday I wake up and look at myself in the mirror, I always say to myself, Ray, see how far you’ve come, from a complete newbie to this amazing SOC Analyst,” Rahab said, beaming with pride.
“CyberGirls shaped me into the person I am today. I had a strong foundation, and I built everything I am today and will become, around it,” Rahab said.
I’d like to thank her mentor, Blessing Usoro, CISM, CISA in particular for providing gold standard mentorship to Rahab all the way from Ireland.
Rahab, we are extremely proud of you. Your story serves as a personal reminder to me to never give up on this work.
CyberGirls is Africa’s biggest female-focused novice-to-professional free cybersecurity training and mentorship program….an initiative of CyberSafe Foundation
