At least 24 female science students will undergo a 6 month mentorship program in order to prepare them for their science career.

The students have been drawn from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Chancellor College and the Polytechnic.

Halima Twabi one of the mentors and a lecturer in statistics at Chancellor College told YONECO FM online that female scientists face some social cultural barriers which affect their advancement in science and these need to be eliminated.

“Girls are looked down upon and this is one of the reasons that female scientists struggle to get a job because employers feel girls cannot perform well.”

Twabi also encouraged girls to take up science careers so that they can contribute to the social economic development of the country.

“A recent study revealed that females taking up science careers is 39% and our goal is to see the numbers go up 50 or 70% would be great,” said Twabi.

One of the mentee’s Sylvia Makupe who was a chemical engineering student at MUST said the training will enable her acquire knowledge on how to overcome barriers  that hinder girls from progressing in science.

The science mentorship is being implemented by Girls in Science Technology Arts and Mathematics STEAM with funding from the African Academy of Sciences.