A true story by Elie Molly*
Beijing, 22 December 2019
A few weeks ago, my P.hD fellow in USTB**, a beautiful lady from Tonga's kingdom, discussed surprising research findings with me. She said research found that the more educated women are, the less entrepreneurial skill they have. I thought deeply about it. I looked at myself and began to worry.
I still remember clearly, last year, I had a good business opportunity, selling my books, perfumes, and jewelry in a new shopping mall in Shanghai, the largest and most developed city in China. I got a lot of money from the selling, much more than I had expected before. As a Beijing student who depends on my daily living on the full scholarship from the Chinese government, it was a great earning.
I did my business with my Tanzanian schoolmate, Hamida, who was also my marketing manager (as my European man advised me to hire one). Alhamdulillah, Chinese people like my products. My books were sold out; many customers purchased perfumes and jewelry. I was thankful to Hamida. And we continued our business between our academic lives. One day we had another chance to sell again in Shanghai. Unfortunately, at that time, not many people came to the shopping mall, leaving our products unsold. But regardless of the result, it was still an experience. We didn't sell well, but we found another opportunity: we got many contacts from work agencies in Shanghai.
So after going back to our campus in Beijing with full luggage and no money, Hamida and I started to contact the work agents. Most of them want an English teacher for a private home or kindergarten. I did a lot of interviews with Wechat videos. Many agents liked me; they said my spoken English is acceptable, and I'm pretty, but in the end, they always asked, "Can you take off your Hijab (headscarf) while at work?"
Of course, I refused the requests. No matter how much salary was offered, I would never take off my Hijab for the sake of money. Feeling tired of a series of unsuccessful job interviews for almost one month, I stopped trying. I focus on writing research papers. My two papers were accepted for publication, Alhamdulillah; one by a conference in New Zealand, another by an international journal based in Netherland. I was so happy because all my research papers were about the Hijab (from marketing and consumer behavior perspectives).
After my papers got accepted, I got another good news from Hamida. She got an English job with a high salary without demanding her to take off her Hijab. I was so happy for her. It brought me new enthusiasm that I can be like her as well. I wear Hijab for the sake of Allah; I believe that I also can get a good job with the help of Allah. So I prayed, and Allah is the best answerer of prayers.
First, I got a good offer to collect data in my country. Still, I canceled to take this job because my teacher didn't allow me to leave China during my study (moreover, now the university has applied face recognition that students can't even leave Beijing without permission). Then a week later, I got an offer from a data company in Beijing. I should work full time 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. I got a nice office where I can wear Hijab as I want. But the salary was not too high, so I prayed to Allah, "Oh Allah, last year you gave me a lot of money from my business, why this year I don't get that much?"
And as usual, Allah is the best in answering prayers. The company said they like the way I'm doing work, so they considered me to be an official staff instead of a temporary contract. And for the first term, they offered me a good salary, which is the same amount I got from doing my business last year. Mashaa Allah! I was so happy.
A few weeks ago, I told my European man about the research finding that made me worried; the research proving that the more educated women are, the less entrepreneurial skills they will have. I'm a Ph.D. student, and I was worried if my business skill is not good enough to run my business ideas. But now I don't worry anymore because I have Allah who will always show me how to reach my dreams, from any sources I never expected before. And if I'm not so good in business, it is ok; Allah has sent me my European man, my future husband who is successful in his business, to whom I can learn. I love him so much, and I believe he will be a good husband and father, together we will earn money for our future family, inshaa Allah.
By the way, this winter vacation, I have a long list of stuff to buy for my mother, i.e., the pink carpet, pink bedsheets, anti-aging pink cream, and other pink stuff. She used to buy me everything pink; now it's my turn to buy for her. I want to decorate her home pink to see her happy smile, enjoying her beloved daughter's new salary. 🌷💲
*Elie Molly, author of the book "Dare To Dream."
**University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, China.
To connect with the author and know more about her books, visit: https://eliemolly.wixsite.com/websitehttps://web.facebook.com/eliemulyadi2
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REACH YOUR IMPOSSIBLE DREAM!
Non-FictionREACH YOUR IMPOSSIBLE DREAM! is a book written by Elie Molly, a collection of true stories to rekindle your heart, spirit, and motivation to reach your dream. No matter what you are now and what you were in the past, you can shape your better dream...
