Fatou came to the UK from Guinea when she was 16. She dreamed of a successful career as a banker or doctor and had worked hard to gain qualifications, which she had to redo in the UK. She completed her GCSEs and gained a degree in childhood studies from Leeds Metropolitan University.
“My tutor suggested I look at teaching qualifications and I thought ‘why not?’” she said, describing how she ended up achieving QTS (qualified teacher status) in early years education with a good grade.
“Everyone in the class managed to get a job,” she said. “But it was too hard for me. I was constantly shortlisted but once I got to the interview, I never got it.”
Asked whether she thought her Muslim religion had played a part, Fatou said it was “hard to play that card” but now – aged 32 and having given up on a career in teaching – she was convinced she had been discriminated against.
Now a childminder, Fatou, who speaks clear and fluent English, described one blow when a worker on a placement told her: “I don’t see how you can succeed.” She said the woman cited her voice, arguing that “children need to hear a British accent”.
She did not give up because she believed African children in the classroom needed role models like her. “But the negative comments got me down. When I spoke to people on the phone they wouldn’t say anything but once they saw me their face would drop and I thought ‘I’m not going to get it’ … Having lived here for 15 years I can definitely say it was [discrimination].”
Fatou said friends who were Muslim had faced similar experiences. “People say ‘why bother with university? – I told you at the beginning that you wouldn’t succeed’. And I think they are right. I wasted all my time doing that and I have the certificates in a cupboard. I feel angry and disappointed but now I have accepted it.”
The mother of three said she feared for her children’s future. “I look at them and feel really sad because my first-born, who is eight, is really good at school but I worry what will he do and I fear he will face discrimination.”
