• ELIMASS, pupils and teachers outside their classroom in Kazungula.

By Namakau Hantembe –

In today’s modern society, women are regarded to be important as compared to way back. Women have come out publicly to speak out on their rights because they have realised how important they are in society.

Indeed, women are not as low as society perceived them then because they too can contribute effectively on matters of national development. They play an important role in every community set up they live in.

This fulfils the saying, ‘behind every successful man, there is a woman’. It is for this reason that women are very important ‘tools’ on issues of national interest.

In an interview, Musole Lifuti, a senior citizen shared few moments with this reporter as he lamented how a girl child used to be regarded in the past. He charged that a girl child was regarded to be an inferior person who could not be given an opportunity to further her education.

He said once a girl child reached puberty stage, her parents could just think of marrying her off, a situation he felt was very disheartening on part of the girl child. He added that a woman’s place was in the kitchen instead of taking up in any other ventures that would help in contributing to the affairs of a home.

Lifuti said he was happy that in this modern time, things have changed for the better because women themselves have spoken out on various platforms to denounce what he termed as ‘injustices’ against them.

“Let us first talk about a home set up. Women are very intelligent and good managers. They are very active in the upbringing of children in homes. Mothers in most cases are very caring as compared to fathers. This is a well known fact. I am a man, I know what I am talking about,” Lifuti said.

He added that women are good people who should be given maximum support to achieve the desired goals in their lives in order for them to contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the country.

Lifuti charged that having an educated woman in a family is a big achievement because more people would benefit from her education as compared from a male counterpart. He said for instance, male politicians who are very successful today are as a result of getting encouragements from their wives.

He continued to say that today, women have something to boast about as they too have contributed massively to the development of the nation.

Lifuti said while men have remained stagnant, women have continued to excel in their lives for the past 50 years. He said today the country has women in decision making positions such are Judges, ministers, police Commissioners, and Permanent Secretaries. He said others are technicians, truck and tax drivers among others.

Lifuti said all these jobs were for men in those days but women have proved themselves that they are capable of doing any job in order for them to contribute to the development of the country.

Meanwhile, Wezy Muzambala said in a separate interview that learning capacity has increased for women because parents and guardians have realised and seen how important it is to educate a girl child. Muzambala added that even when it comes to scholarships, women are highly favored adding that it was a good achievement for them.

He said women are very good organisers of events as compared to men. Muzambala mentioned that when doing a particular intervention, women are more influential people on issues to do with church activities, agriculture and health projects among other things.

He also charged that women are better volunteers who are able to take up any challenge along the way.

Muzambala added that when it comes to resources, women are very good because they are not extravagant like their male counterparts.

He said women are very careful when it comes to spending while men would squander the resources. Muzambala praised women for their caliber and wished them well ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day which falls on March 8 annually.

This reporter caught up with a 39-year-old single woman of Kazungula who is running a pre-school in her community. Elizabeth Masiye, a teacher by profession, came up with an initiative of running a pre-school in her community because the area has a big challenge of lacking schools nearby.

She saw the importance of coming up with a pre-school looking at the growing number of children in Kazungula that needed such services.

Masiye said she started running Elimass Pre-school in June 2011 and since then, the school has been doing very fine.

“I am proud to boast that the surrounding community would continue to benefit from my services because they are a lot of children that are enrolled at my school,” she explained.

She added that currently, there are 78 children that are enrolled at Elimass, 32 girls and 46 boys. Masiye said her one by two classroom block consists of a baby class and reception and was quick to mention that very soon the school shall expand into a primary school.

Masiye said she has employed two teachers who are working with her at the school adding that she has also employed a chef who is looking after the children’s meals.

“I am happy to be my own boss because I run my own affairs,” she said while smiling. Masiye charged that women have the strength to start something and gave an example of how she started her own business alone without any help from somebody.

She said for her to have managed her business properly, she was financially disciplined and had a vision of what she intended to achieve in life. Masiye said women were looked down upon in the past but it is a different situation in today’s modern society because they can stand up on their own and manage their own affairs.

“Most women were lacking resources to help them excel in their lives. We need more empowerment for us to be where we are supposed to be,” said Masiye.

She narrated how most women in the area were struggling due to lack of empowerment. She said women are hard working people as seen from a number of them in the area who were engaged in so many activities in order to earn a living.

And Dorothy Mutemwa, a teacher employed at the school challenged her fellow women never to wait upon their husbands for them to be successful in their lives.

Mutemwa encouraged other women to be creative and proactive by coming up with so many income generating activities that could in turn uplift their livelihood and contribute meaningfully to the social and economic development of the country.

Meanwhile, Dickson Machai of Kazungula has commended Kazungula women for their hard working culture. Machai observed that women in the area are not lazy because they work up very early in the morning in readiness to cross over to Kasane in Botswana for their businesses.

“Women here are better than their husbands who just think of where they would spend their day and drink beer while their wives are out there to make money,” Machai disclosed.

He said women are good people who are capable of turning things around them if properly empowered.

Indeed, women are very important persons in any given society regardless of their social status in life. They too can significantly contribute to the massive economic development of the country.  — ZANIS