As the world ushers in world women day Sunday, women in Nyahururu town are an excited lot as they are part of the celebrations.
These women, have over the years engaged themselves in male dominated tasks and they enjoy every bit of it. For instance, in Nyahururu town, a number of women were engaged as boda boda riders.
One of such riders, Josephine Mwangi, aptly says, “No work is meant for a particular gender, I have done this work for the last three years.”
Mwangi adds that being a single parent she has taken it in strides to be the bread winner of her family and so she embraces her work with gusto.
The same case applies to Mercy Njeri, a mother of three, who told KNA that she has been into this business for more than 10 years, despite all the challenges.
And for Josephine Wakarima, locally known as bibye maina, her work has made her grow a lot in life, considering that she has a family that depended on her.
“At times it gets tough and so we join our fellow men colleagues to form small savings group which boosts us financially,” added Wakarima.
However, it hasn’t been all rosy for women in the boda boda industry. “Since we engage ourselves in such a masculine task, most clients believe that we don’t have the necessary strength, or the knowhow in operating these motorbikes,” says a rider Nyokabi Njeri.
She added that the biggest challenge women riders face is the kind of lopsided mindset some people have towards them, hence a low preference by clients compared to their male competitors.
The women riders are now asking the government to support them by implementing an affirmative program similar to the youth fund.
Last week, ICT, Youth Affairs and Innovation CS Joe Mucheru speaking in Nyandarua County called upon women to join the robust boda boda sector that commands about Sh317 billion annual turnover.
by Patrick Luke Ndung’u
