Young women experience grueling life in Bulawayo streets
By Regis Nhumba
Nomsa Gatsheni (19) who lives in Mzilikazi suburb in Bulawayo metropolitan provinces says Zimbabwe’s declining economy is creating challenges for young women as there are now limited formal job opportunities, forcing them into menial jobs where sexual abuse and violence are rife.
Nomsa says when she passed her Ordinary Level examinations, she had hoped to get a good job in government or in a private company. She says she could not further her studies because of the financial constraints.
“My parents passed on when I was 16 years old. My young sister who was 12 years and I were left in the custody of our 61 year old maternal grandmother. My parents did not leave much for us and by the time my school results came, we could barely support ourselves. My young sister still needed financial support for her education and that is when I realised that I should do something while waiting for formal employment opportunities,” says Nomsa.
Nomsa says her grandmother advised her to start vegetable vending. She was given USD30 to buy different vegetables and she identified a place along the street where she displayed her wares. Nomsa says vending in Bulawayo is not an occupation that should be done by young people, especially girls.
“Bulawayo streets are not safe for girls. There is a lot of violence from fellow vendors, customers and law enforcement agents. I have experienced some nasty situations but because for now that is the only way to earn income, I have to persist. I have had to shift places after experiencing violence. I have had my goods confiscated by Metro Police and have been beaten on more than five times by fellow vendors who claim that I have taken their customers,” says Nomsa.
Nomsa’s routine starts as early as 0400 when she goes to the market to get fresh vegetables. She says getting to the market late will mean that she will only get poor quality vegetables. She says after buying the vegetables, she leaves them at a storage place while she gets back home to do some domestic chores. She says vegetable customers start buying in the afternoon and that is when she gets back to town to start selling the vegetables.
“I start selling vegetables from noon. On busy days I only get back home around 21:00. It will be dark and criminals will be prowling. For safety, I have to coordinate with other vendors so that we move as a group. But still we get robbed on many occasions. It is so frustrating and dangerous. I will I had options. I continue to apply for formal jobs but nothing is coming my way,” says Nomsa.
Evelyn Sibanda (36) who lives in Mpopoma suburb in Bulawayo Metropolitan suburb says she is resigning to a life of vending as the situation continues on a downward trend. Evelyn says she has been in the streets for close to two decades but feels unsafe every day. She says street vending has been worsened by the increase in the number of vendors.
“When I started street vending, there were few vendors and the streets were clean and open. We operated close to bus termini where there were public toilets. All that has changed. All streets are now occupied by vendors. Sanitary lanes are now used as toilets and there is dirty human waste everywhere. This is the reason why Metro Police raid and confiscate our wares. But we have to keep coming back because we have nowhere to go,” says Evelyn.
Evelyn says hundreds of young women and girls continue to join the streets, doing diverse businesses such as selling imported groceries, phones, cooked food, toys and many other things that they lay their hands on. She says she sees no end in sight to this trend, but wishes things could change so that young people have planned and organized formal jobs.
