Hajara-Yasmin Isa, a 27-year-old PhD student for Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, don author a coding book for Hausa language. For interview with Weekend Trust, she yarn about wetin push am to do this work.
Hajara-Yasmin, wey dey come from Abuja but her family roots dey Kano State, start her coding journey for home. Her papa, wey study computer science and work as IT manager for Nitel, M’tel, and NIMC, expose am to technology from small. She tok say, ‘Growing up, I dey always exposed to technology and conversations about how software works.’
She face plenty challenges as female coder. One big challenge na how coding dey take time. ‘The learning curve dey steep, and progress rarely follow predictable schedule. You plan to code for one hour and you find yourself dey debugging for midnight,’ she tok. She add say women often get extra responsibilities wey make this time commitment harder.
Hajara-Yasmin get inspiring moments wey drive am. One na when she start pilot project for secondary school for Kano State. ‘The excitement, encouragement, and sense of ownership people express dey incredibly inspiring,’ she tok.
The main inspiration for the book come when she try to Google how to say ‘object-oriented programming’ for Hausa and no find answer. She realize say there be language gap for technological education for Hausa-speaking communities. She start research and compile terminology, wey later turn to full book. A trip to Kano solidify her commitment. She see a young boy wey build toy cars from scrap materials, and she realize say talent dey everywhere but opportunity no dey, and language be barrier.
Writing the book no easy. She face challenge to translate technical ideas into Hausa wey both accurate and intuitive. ‘Many computing terms simply no get direct equivalents, so I had to carefully decide when to translate, when to adapt existing words, and when to introduce new terminology,’ she tok. She spend time research, cross-reference dialects, and consult native speakers.
She start writing the book during her sophomore year of undergrad and work am on and off. Since launch, the response from Hausa community dey encouraging. People dey appreciate say computer science material dey available for language wey familiar. She dey pilot am for schools now.
When talk about women for tech, Hajara-Yasmin remind say Ada Lovelace be first computer programmer. She believe say landscape dey change slowly. ‘The flexibility of remote work can make tech careers more accessible, especially for regions where traditional expectations fit limit participation,’ she tok. But subtle bias still dey, like assumptions about technical ability.
She say the biggest barrier for women na perception, not ability. ‘Women sometimes get fewer role models for technical leadership, wey fit affect confidence and visibility.’ She emphasize say representation and mentorship dey important.
For her, coding give agency. ‘It be the difference between having idea and being able to bring am to life,’ she tok. She encourage young women to start with curiosity and no fear to experiment. ‘Coding be something you learn by doing, not by waiting until you feel ready.’
Outside tech, she dey learn Spanish and get passion for philosophy and psychology. She also enjoy archery and ice skating. Hajara-Yasmin say she dey look forward to how AI dey transform programming and she hope to establish research lab for future.
