Women emancipation goes an extra mile

A middle aged man scrambles into the taxi at Remera Taxi Park. He is panting and in a hurry. Apparently he is headed for Nyabugogo. As he settles into the taxi, I over hear him chatting with another passenger. “Today, I will be late for work. You know I had to first prepare the kids for school, and check all the necessities at home.” He went on to explain that his wife travelled to Kenya on a business trip and that is why he has to do work that would traditionally be reserved for the lady of the house. This scenario got me thinking. I remembered one trip from Kampala. I had boarded the midnight bus which plies Kampala-Kigali-Bujumbura route. I noticed that most of the passengers were women. The midnight bus is usually used by business people returning from shopping trips. On this trip, I talked to one lady who explained that she was a business woman, dealing in interior design materials. She explained that many of the lady passengers are engaged in business thus accounting for their numbers this particular night. Apparently, women have managed to establish themselves in business like never before. They are beating the traditional myth that they were expected to stay at home and take care of their kids and husbands. Phiona Mbabazi deals in second hand clothes and is a frequent traveller to Kampala. She said that she is forced to be away from her husband and kids because of the nature of the work she does. She said, “What marriage was a decade ago is not what it is today. Many of us have to work in order to make ends meet.” “We have too many demands at home including school fees for the kids. Therefore, I have to work to supplement my husband’s income.” Mbabazi also expressed the belief that women do not have to always depend on their husbands or be by their side everyday. She admitted that sometimes being away from home could lead to one of the partners straying or creating room for suspicion in regard to marital fidelity. “However, the risk is worth it because a working woman is able to lead her on life without having to depend on her husband for everything.” Christine Muhoza believes that as time goes by, many women will go into fields which were unheard of in yester years. She goes on to say that women these days have become bolder and more ambitious. She alludes to the fact that Hilary Clinton made a good showing in the United State’s presidential race. To her, the sky is the limit. She gives the example of the lower house of parliament where women constitute more than 50% of the law makers. Muhoza adds that by doing their own business, women are able to be independent and as such things like sexual exploitation from bosses or colleagues do not arise. A walk around Kigali streets is enough to demonstrate what women are capable of doing. At construction sites around town, they are doing work that was in the recent past thought to be beyond their physical capabilities. Others will be found driving taxis and motorcycles. Joseline Mukankomeje of Nyakabanda reveals how she started working at construction sites. She says that life was never the same after the death of her husband in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Before then, her role was a stay at home mum. But after the death of her husband, her life turned for the worst and she had to find work in order to feed her kids and ensure they go to school. “I had to wake up and face life head on. I have picked up the skills and I am able to do for myself and children what I thought was only my husband’s role.” Women world over are not waiting for tragedy to befall them in order to go into ‘male’ domains. Education has played a great role too. With training, they gain confidence and are able to apply the machines and brains instead of the physical energy. Another factor that could be contributing to this trend is the awareness raising that girls are not necessarily second class citizens. Initially, people only took their sons to school but girl-child education activists kept hammering the point home that once a girl/woman is educated, then the nation is educated. It’s now up to the girls and women to strive for what really belongs to them by continuously excelling in whatever they do. Rwandans are already doing that. Ends