ESSAY GLOBAL VOICES OF SCIENCE Following the Light: Opening Doors to Science in Zohra Ben Lakhdar

hen I was young, everyone around Nobody even thought about going to second- desire to achieve me said that science was a field for ary school, which required traveling 25 kilo- the same scientific edu- Wmen to pursue and that it was too meters to the nearest big city, . With cation and status as men and to open ways for difficult for women. They said there was a no buses or cars around, this was a very long other women to do the same. fundamental intellectual difference between and difficult trip. Most girls went just to There were good reasons to work toward men and women, and between primary school for a few years, this goal. As a child, I was dazzled by the girls and boys. The assumed role The Editors hope you and then got married, usually at power of science. I witnessed amazing feats, of women in society was to take have enjoyed this around the age of 15 years. some of which took place in my own home. A care of the family. I did not accept year’s Global Voices Marriage was by far our French surgeon had saved my mother’s life by these notions. I liked mathematics of Science essay primary concern. That was what performing open-heart surgery on her. The and all of the sciences, especially series celebrating society expected of us. Our lives contraceptive pill was providing women with physics. It became my goal to 125 years of Science. couldn’t have been farther removed the power to decide when to have children show, through my own example, The voices of the from science and technology. And and take on the rigors of raising a family. Men international com- that I could do science as well as that was true not only for girls. alone would no longer be the only ones with munity of scientists men could. have an enormous There were no Tunisian engineers, those powers. I witnessed the establishment I attended primary school in amount to offer, and professors, or doctors in the coun- of the industrial production of chicken: the 1950s in the cities of it has been our try at all during that period. All of food for everyone! “Yahya el Elm,” said my and Jemmal, where the highest privilege to feature these professionals were French. mother each time I tried to explain these level of education available to them in this year’s One early source of inspiration things to her. That’s essentially a tribute that girls resulted in a “certificat d’é- anniversary events. for me was the importance my means, “science be praised.” tudes primaries.” This is like a We have learned parents placed on the value of In 1956, when Tunisia gained its inde- high school diploma, except that much from their education. But even my father pendence from France, women were granted it marks the completion of pri- unique perspectives. used to assume that his boys were equal rights with men under the law, and mary school only. I know of no Series editor, the ones who could succeed in education became a primary issue in gov- other girl, besides myself, who Ivan Amato technical areas. He wanted his ernmental politics. My family moved to was in school with me at the sons to be engineers. “Power is , the nation’s capital, a city now with a time who even received that with science, and with people population of more than 3 million. There, “diploma.” There were few girls in the pri- who are good in mathematics,” he told them. I succeeded in entering secondary school. mary school I attended—less than about 25 Boys had power and opportunity by nature. I I spent 6 years in the best school for French in the first year—and only 6 of us made it all could see that women would have to earn their and Arabic studies for women. I earned my the way through to complete our education. place in a man’s world. This only fueled my baccalaureate (first part) with the best

Zohra Ben Lakhdar Tunisia It has been almost 30 years since Zohra Ben Lakhdar received her appointment as a professor of physics at Tunis El Manar University in Tunisia. Now director of the Department of Physics’ Laboratory of Atomic-Molecular Spectroscopy and Applications, she does both theoretical studies of the spectral properties of matter and applied research and development in several areas, including optics-based pol- lution monitoring. From her primary-school days onward, Lakhdar has had to battle political, social, and cultural obstacles as she muscled forward toward her lifelong goal of becoming an active and productive member of the global scientific community. After earning her Ph.D. in atomic spectroscopy from the University of Paris VI in 1978, she turned down offers to work in relatively luxurious conditions overseas and instead returned to Tunis University, where she has remained ever since. She has authored numer- ous papers and textbook chapters, advised and mentored many students, and was a founding member of the Tunisian Optical Society. In 1994, she was elected to the Islamic Academy of Sciences and since 2001 has been an associate member of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. She also has organized and/or chaired international conferences and workshops in laser physics and related fields. Earlier this year, she was honored by being named a winner of the 2005 L’OREAL-UNESCO Award for Women In Science.

All essays and interactive features appearing in this series can be found online at www.sciencemag.org/sciext/globalvoices/ CREDIT: MICHELINE PELLETIER/GAMMA

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 310 2 DECEMBER 2005 1435 Published by AAAS G LOBAL VOICES OF SCIENCE

results at the national level. Unfortunately, ever, I wanted to continue my scientific train- At the same time, I was struck by a curious though, this school had little to offer in the ing. As it turned out, an opportunity arose for irony surrounding the technological feats of sciences. If I was going to become a scien- me to do so. the era. For example, during the Apollo 11 tist, I would have to take extraordinary steps. At the end of each academic year, in mission in 1969, the entire world watched on June, a professor came from France to television screens as Neil Armstrong became Joining the Boy’s Club supervise exams and to validate our diplo- the first person to walk on the moon. Yet no One important step that I took was to pre- mas. Each year, the Tunisian government one had ever photographed an atom. An pare for my baccalaureate (second part) in awarded fellowships to the best three to five image of an atom, free and in a stationary mathematics at Sadiki College, the best students to continue their studies at univer- position, would be in hand only 20 years later. men’s school in Tunis and one that was sities in France. In some cases, top students I found it amazing that exploring the world of known particularly for its strengths in could use their fellowship to pursue basic atoms was in some ways more difficult than physics and mathematics. Nobody advised research in France. setting foot on the moon! me to go there, though many were quick to In 1967, I was selected by the university By 1971, I had earned my next degree. My tell me it would be too difficult for a for the opportunity to go to France to study for thesis work focused on using spectroscopy woman. Yet, because of my strong academic a Diploma of Further Studies (Diplôma d’é- and spectral analysis to deduce the potential record and because women now had equal tudes approfondies, DEA). That year, the pro- of different atoms to interact with one rights with men under the law, girls also fessor who came from France to validate our another. All of my subsequent scientific work could gain access to has emerged from this training. I am fasci- Sadiki. Even so, other nated by what makes different substances than myself, only one take on different shapes and how substances other woman attended undergo phase transformations. the school. My parents I brought these experiences and my were proud of my grades, expanded knowledge back to Tunisia where I which were very good, became only the second Tunisian woman to and I earned my degree in work as an assistant on the staff of the science mathematics in 1963. faculty. I spent 3 years in this position, but I This was a degree that was unable to conduct my own research. For opened doors for me. With that, I needed a doctorate. So I returned it, I could enroll in the to France, to the University of Paris VI. Tunis University faculty Following a 4-year period of study, during of medicine, which had which I finally earned my “Doctorat d’Etat,” just been established, or in Pollution patrol.The author uses laser-induced fluorescence analysis to my then-new husband, also a doctor of the faculty of sciences, detect pollutants in plant tissue. physics, and I both received offers to stay in which then was just 3 France and build our careers there. That was years old—the same age as the almost new diplomas happened to be from the Université tempting for both of us, but we chose to return university itself. I enrolled in the faculty of Pierre et Marie Curie, Jussieu (Paris VI), to Tunisia to help plant scientific seeds, where sciences and, because I had done well in where he was a director of the Atomic we knew there were too few. mathematics, was awarded a grant from the Spectroscopy Laboratory (LSA), which was In 1978, I again found myself on the staff government to pay for my courses. But I pre- part of the physics department’s Laboratory of the science faculty at Tunis University. ferred physics, and I did my best to convince of Research (DRP). As it turns out, when I This time, I joined as a professor of physics. the government to let me use the grant to went to Paris, I ended up studying atomic I began working toward having my own study physics. Of course, both fields are spectroscopy at the LSA. I was close to the research laboratory, so that I could offer my closely connected with one another. Sorbonne, the Collège de France, and the students the same opportunities that I had in This was a good time to be in higher edu- Ecole Normale Supérieure! For me, it was France. It marked a new phase of my career. cation in Tunisia. To encourage students, the another world. I was in the world of atoms— It was a very big step for me, but each government offered each one a fellowship. the building blocks of matter—and of stars, subsequent step—getting computers, soft- This emphasis on education was still so new and of cells! I was in a world of scientists! It ware, and additional training, for exam- in the 1960s, however, that there weren’t yet was a world I hoped more Tunisian girls ple—has posed new challenges. It took 10 many students at the university level, particu- would now think was within their reach. years for me to publish my first paper. Now larly in physics or mathematics courses. Each Tuesday, I went to the Collège de my work includes theoretical studies of Other than the two Tunisian staff members France and sat in on the quantum mechanics optical phenomena related to atoms and with Ph.D.’s, all of the professors were French. courses taught by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji. molecules, as well as the detection of air The country was proud of its first university He led us into the atomic world step by step. pollutants, using the technique known as students, especially of its science students. He helped me to develop a deep love for the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy In 1963, there were only about 200 students physics of atoms and to appreciate the simple (TDLAS); of water pollutants, using laser- in the science faculty, and only five of us beauty of this realm. Through him, I was induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS); were women. exposed to the research of the Kastler-Brossel and of pollutants in plant tissues, using Most of the students planned on becoming Laboratory where Alfred Kastler did much of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). secondary school teachers. This was crucial the work on the interactions of light and for the country, as one of its goals was to build atoms that led to the development of the laser Lighting the Way a self-sustaining educational system that, in and for which he earned the Nobel Prize in Even as I had been taking these steps to time, could produce scientists and engineers. 1966. It was exciting to be so close to such show that women in Tunisia could become

When it came time for me to graduate, how- momentous places and events in science. scientists if they wanted to, the mind-set of CREDIT: MICHELINE PELLETIER/GAMMA

1436 2 DECEMBER 2005 VOL 310 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org Published by AAAS G LOBAL VOICES OF SCIENCE

the population was hardly changing. For curly hair, many of them want straight hair, possible for some of them to choose a career most people, even those highly placed in and they often spend a lot of time and over marriage and motherhood. When I was society, scientific expertise was something money on this pursuit. Perhaps the most a girl, my friends were getting married as that belonged to Western countries. As a important thing I can do, however, is help to teenagers. Now the average age of marriage result, there was no scientific environment, make it easier for those in my country and in for a woman is 27. Indeed, in Tunisia, both no ambition, no motivation, and no political other African nations to join the scientific women and men now contribute equally to backing for research. Most women at the community. the development of the economy and soci- time considered it their main role to have a Along these lines, one of my dreams is to ety. As in more developed countries, these family and to raise children. Thinking about establish in Tunisia an international scientific gains for women have come at a cost. Even going abroad for research training or for center of optics and photonics (and physics as women have been making careers for the postdoctoral work, ambitions that I had education) where African researchers could first time, they still bear most of the respon- become accustomed to considering, were easily come to study and train. My inspira- sibility for attending to their family and rais- utterly foreign notions for most. tion for this goal derives from the Nobel ing their children. Of course, I had to work within certain constraints. Because we have not had many facilities or My advice to young women scientists in my country is to expensive instruments in Tunisia, persevere, to love work and to love to do good work, for example, much of my scien- tific work has focused on theoreti- to be independent, to respect others but not submit to cal studies of molecular interac- tions. Among the specific areas I those who would stop you from achieving your goals, have investigated are how laser- to be scientifically honest, and to embrace your ambi- like effects and other optical phe- nomena could manifest in the rar- tions, all the while respecting culture, responsibility to efied matter found in various envi- ronments in space. I have been your family, and allegiance to your country. particularly interested in atomic states, molecules, and other There is still a long way to go before sci- forms of matter that cannot be ence becomes an integral part of Tunisian replicated in the laboratory. Only society. Most women do not directly appreci- by calculating the spectrum emit- ate the importance of, say, physics, in the car- ted by such entities is it possible ing of the family, which remains the concern to fully analyze the light that of every woman. That’s why most women pre- comes into our telescopes and fer to choose a job where the holidays are the spectrometers. same as they are for schoolchildren. Rather Even though I have been than taking jobs to further their careers, per drawn to many arcane subjects in se, women take them out of economic neces- physics, including atomic spec- sity to support their families. Moreover, their troscopy, I have developed an own careers usually are still less important to interest in applying science in them than are the careers of their husbands. practical ways. I have seen how Even for those Tunisian women who do earn a climate and lack of resources can Science huddle. Surrounded by colleagues, Zohra Ben place among professionals scientists, they thwart the aspiration of millions Lakhdar analyzes water for pollutants using a technique often stop their research after obtaining a and make life very difficult. One called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Ph.D. so that they can care for their children project I worked on in recent and family, while the men in the family con- years was the development of TDLAS meth- Laureate Abdus Salam, whom I greatly tinue on their career paths. ods for measuring trace pollutant gases in admire. In 1964, he created the International My advice to young women scientists in the atmosphere, including the methane that Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in my country is to persevere, to love work and Tunisian industries emit. Trieste, Italy, where researchers from devel- to love to do good work, to be independent, In time, my dream is to develop tech- oping countries can spend a few months, all to respect others but not submit to those who nologies that would make it possible to con- expenses paid, working in a stimulating envi- would stop you from achieving your goals, vert deserts into arable land, transform sea ronment, taking courses on subjects of their to be scientifically honest, and to embrace water into potable water, reduce the ever choosing, meeting other scientists from your ambitions, all the while respecting cul- more oppressive heat in our countries, and around the world, and enjoying the luxury of ture, responsibility to your family, and alle- find ways to increase the amount of rain in a rich library. I have been an associate mem- giance to your country. Knowledge and dry areas. I also have a few more mundane ber of ICTP since 2001. know-how are the way of liberty and equal- visions. I would like to be able to explain Since the days when I was one of the ity. Neither gender, nor religion, nor age why straight hair becomes curly with only girls and women in Tunisia with scien- will stand as a barrier to research in science. humidity, to find the molecular mechanism tific aspirations, the number of women Yahya el Elm. underlying that transformation, and to involved in the sciences has been increas- The author is in the Department of Physics, University develop a product that can transform curly ing, particularly in the biological sciences. of Tunis, Tunis 1060, Tunisia. E-mail: zohra.lakhdar@ hair into straight hair. Even though so many Part of the reason for this is that women fst.rnu.tn

CREDIT: MICHELINE PELLETIER/GAMMA women and girls throughout Africa have have become more independent, making it 10.1126/science.1115181

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 310 2 DECEMBER 2005 1437 Published by AAAS