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Ameenah Gurib-Fakim: Mauritius president on biodiversity, science & women
Diversity: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and her team of scientists
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Diversity: Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and her team of scientists.
In a recent video conference with Indonesian journalists, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, 56, shared her views on protecting nature, fostering research and creating a better environment for women scientists.
'I think I am one of the rare presidents to have come to the presidency from a lab,' she said, starting the video conference arranged by L'Oréal on Nov. 20.
Born in Surinam, Mauritius, Gurib-Fakim received her PhD in organic chemistry at Exeter University in the UK. Back at home, she served at the University of Mauritius before establishing CIDP Research & Innovation (formerly known as CEPHYR) that focuses on researching plants for use in cosmetics, nutrition and therapy.
For her outstanding achievements, she was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science (FWIS) Award in 2007.
Gurib-Fakim's unexpected turn to politics started last year when the Alliance Lepep, a political coalition led by the current Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth, selected her to be the presidential candidate.
A day before the swearing-in ceremony on June 5 thus year, she was still working in the laboratory, Gurib-Fakim recalled.
'I never chose politics, but politics chose me,' she replied when asked about her decision to take the ceremonial position as Mauritius head of state and commander in chief.
'They wanted somebody with a certain profile. They wanted a woman, somebody with a non-political background, who had science credibility,' she added.
Mauritius, a global biodiversity hotspot, is home to some 300 plant species that can only be found on the island. Through her research center, Gurib-Fakim has dedicated her time and knowledge to research hundreds of indigenous medicinal plants from Mauritius.
Herbal medicine was used by 80 percent of the world's population for their primary health care 20 years ago. Gurib-Fakim points out that it is important for research to validate herbal medicine in order to make it more affordable and accessible.
'You need to flag the science in there so as to know whether it is working, how safe it is and what is the right dose,' Gurib-Fakim explained.
'And if we put all this together we have a very powerful tool for alleviating many forms of diseases that are prevalent in poorer countries,' she added.
The rich biodiversity of Mauritius is under threat as a result of human activity and climate change.
'Mauritius was covered with forests many years ago when the Dutch first visited the island. Now we only have less than 2 percent forest cover.'
'The biggest threat to biodiversity in the initial stages has been demography, expansion of human settlement. They have cut down the forests. Now, we have another big challenge to biodiversity loss with climate change.'
While Africa represents 12 percent of the world's population, it only produces about 1 percent of the world's research and science publications. Gurib-Fakim believes that Africa, including Mauritius, can step up its game if governments are willing to increase spending on providing capacity building and an enabling environment.
'You need to have very strong leadership and you need to have a lot of commitment, financial and otherwise, so as to make this happen. And it is important that Africa starts generating researchers because it is only through generations of high-quality scientific researchers that you can spur technology development.'
She acknowledges that science remains very much male-dominated in many parts of the world. Gurib-Fakim laid out several things that needed to be done to encourage more women into science.
'You need to build the base, and the base can be done through the right environment so that girls can learn about science, and prevent stereotyping, and more importantly make science fun.'
Gurib-Fakim noted the social pressures that some women scientists face when spending less time at home to work in the laboratory.
'If a man works till late in the lab, that man is thought to be highly dedicated, but a woman who works till late in the lab is supposed to be selfish. So again this concept has to change.'
Mauritius, one of the richest countries in Africa based on its GDP per capita, provides equal access to education. Women and men enjoyed equal pay for equal work, Gurib-Fakim said.
While noting that science remains very much male-dominated in many parts of the world, Gurib-Fakim believes that women scientists will gain recognition if they focus on producing quality work.
'For example, when assessors are looking at your papers they will not know whether you are a woman. They will assess you on the quality of your work and quality knows no gender. So if you focus on getting quality work out there, you will be assessed as such.'
' Photo courtesy of L'Oréal
