There is one thing I always see. I see it when I walk the streets of Lusaka and many other towns of Zambia-I see it early in the morning, at noon and late in the evening. Even when I switch on my television set to what documentaries about life in different part of the world, I still see the exact same thing.
What I see are women. Hard working women engaged in different entrepreneurial activities. They do business at bus and truck stops, along busy and major highways and at more formal places like markets usually selling a variety of food stuffs. It is hard work; the women have to run (usually with their babies lovingly secured on their backs) after every car, bus or truck that makes a stop for the purpose of selling their merchandise to the travelers. This is repeated for extended periods of time, both in the cold or sun depending on the season or time of day.
When I converse with these hard working entrepreneurs, I am always struck by one revelation that begs the question: who is really the bread winner? Is a husband really the head bread winner? It is disturbing to discover that in most instances, these women are really the ones who are making sure that their families are fed while their husband’s incomes are usually wasted on alcohol and maintaining extra marital affairs! While in the Zambian context (perhaps in many others cultures as well) men have been assigned the role of “bread winner”, it seems more and more men are living up to this responsibility forcing an increasing number of women to take up the role of proving for their families.
While economic empowerment of women should be continue, I believe it is equally important to invest in changing the mindset of girls and women. What I have already observed has reinforced my belief that women are just as capable (if not more capable) as men are in terms of taking care of their families. I believe liberation of the mind will lessen the vulnerability of women with is a big contributing factor in some of the bigger public health issues like HIV/AIDS.
I dream of a day when women will be regarded as equal partners in development.