Covid-19 hits Vic Falls women hard

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
EFFECTS of the ravaging global Covid-19 pandemic are more severe to women who bear the burden of taking care of families.

In Victoria Falls, the global Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly grounded tourism business and eventually affected business for vendors and small-scale traders, mostly women and their families.

Women are the majority of curio and craft vendors in the resort town.

They also dominate the informal small and medium enterprises where they buy and sell various goods.

While men and other family members also work and provide for their families, it is mothers who make sure the family has something to eat.

Sadly, many have fallen victim to gender-based violence, mostly physical, emotional and financial abuse as a result of Covid-19 which affected jobs and livelihoods.

Chronicle news crew spoke to some women at different markets in Victoria Falls and discovered that many of them have embraced the national mass vaccination exercise as they believe it can contain the spread of the virus to enable them to return to their normal businesses.

During the lockdown period, vendors have been religiously opening their market stalls in anticipation of getting clients, albeit with none coming.

Those spoken to appealed to Government to allow intercity travel and extend business operating hours and allow them to open until 5pm as tourists traditionally visit markets at the end of the day after going through other tourist activities.

There are few tourist arrivals in the city owing to closed land borders and restriction on intercity travel.

“As you can see there is about a quarter of us here and others are at home. Every day we come and sit here and return home without selling anything. Before Covid-19 we were making money. I built my house and sent my children to school from curios vending but all that is history now because of Covid-19,” said Mrs Nelly Nyathi, chairperson of Lugwasyano Co-operative.

The group has 120 members but only 30 have been opening their stalls.

Mrs Nyathi said Covid-19 had affected women.

“Many are stressed because children are not going to school, council bills are accumulating and at home there is no food. Most of the women here are the only hope for their families as a majority of husbands were employed in hotels which have since terminated contracts.

So when there is no money at home children look at the mother, that’s stressful.

“This is why we are appealing to authorities to at least allow us to close at 5pm so that we are home when curfew starts at 6.30pm.

Whenever tour operators get clients, they bring them here after 4pm when they finish other activities and with current lockdown operating hours we will all be closed,” said Mrs Nyathi.

She said all members at her market were vaccinated and were adhering to strict lockdown rules as they feel getting jabbed is the safest way of dealing with the pandemic.

Other popular curio markets are Zambezi Art and Craft which is also occupied by female traders, Thokozani, Sinathakawu, Sizanani, Emshasheni and Bhaka.

Chairperson of Hands Together Victoria Falls, an association of about 30 informal traders’ groups each with between 45 and 55 members, Mrs Simomo Sibanda said women were the worst affected.

She said close to 700 members of the association had been vaccinated.

“People, mostly women were affected as all businesses suffered abrupt closure. Some still have stuff in their houses because there is no business. As a result many families are affected and this burdens us as mothers.

“We were among the first groups to respond to the call as we believed that once vaccinated we will be protected from the disease while at the same time being able to travel as most of our members are cross border traders. It is our call to Government to consider the plight of mothers who are bearing the brunt of having to provide for their families in the middle of nothing,” said Mrs Sibanda.

Hands Together seeks to empower women in Matabeleland North province and has a total of 680 affiliated members doing different projects ranging from poultry, bakery, beads making, detergents making, self-help clubs and buying and selling. Zimbabwe Home Industries and Markets Association (ZHIMA) president Mrs Anette Sithole appealed to Government to allow vaccinated women traders to travel between cities to restock.

“Women are the worst affected by the pandemic and lockdowns. When we sell as mothers we leave part of our stock for family consumption and without stock it means families have nothing to eat.

“People need ways of reviving their business but with no intercity travel, it’s difficult to restock. Government should allow few transporters specifically for women traders because everyone depends on women,” said Mrs Sithole.

She said some members of her association received loans from some financial institutions and will likely default in repaying the money because they have not been able to do business due to lockdown. — @ncubeleon.