Chronicle Editor
Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
WHOEVER said life begins at 40 was talking about Peggy Pasi-Mlauzi (55), a recently retired National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) train driver.
Peggy grew up wishing to be a nurse but she found herself doing jobs “meant” for men. After finishing her high school, she applied to be a nurse but never got the call.
In retrospect, this was a blessing in disguise, she says, as nursing was not going to give her satisfaction.
The retired engine driver says her life began in 2007 when she turned 40 after she applied for a position to train as a shunt engine woman.
Saturday Chronicle visited Peggy at her home in Bulawayo’s Mbundane suburb where shared her life story.
She started working as a manual worker at the NRZ in 2003.
“I used to be a manual worker even when I was growing up. I loved those gender-labelled chores that women were always expected not to do. I used to enjoy going to the field to cut trees and doing manual brick-making at home with my parents in Chivhu. That is why a lot of people were not surprised when I worked as a manual worker at NRZ,” she says.
Peggy had been a manual worker for four years when she saw an advert calling for shunt engine women. Because she had been working around trains it was not a difficult decision for her to make.
She was one of two women, in a class full of men.
“When we first started with the other lady, we used to be belittled by male colleagues. They would tell us that the steering wheel of a train was not meant for a woman,” she says.
Peggy says the prejudicial treatment did not only come from her colleagues but also the community as she was constantly asked why she was not at home taking care of her children.
The bigotry did not discourage her, it made her more determined.
“It took me five years to finish my certificate. My husband was supportive from day one because being one of the oldest people in my class was hard as I had to level myself with the children who were my classmates,” says Peggy.
After graduating, she says, work became fun even though being a train driver is physically taxing as it requires patience and endurance. Being an engine woman requires one to be attentive and carefully listen to the radio because misunderstanding an instruction can cause a lot of damage and possibly loss of life.
“One needs to know what they want so they can be focused because the lives of everyone in the train and the ones walking on the rail lines depend on you,” the retired engine woman said.
She says if ever there is a young woman out there who wants to pursue the same career, they should know that sexual favours and loving social media during work hours are a big no.
“Because it is a very strenuous job and the working shifts can be a bit dramatic if you are a young lady you need to be focused and not easily give in to sexual advances from men. You also need to differentiate between work hours and pleasure because once you mix the two especially when it comes to Internet gadgets no one will ever respect you,” says Peggy.
Peggy had to spend most of her time away from home but because she loved her job, she hardly took notice of the distance and time she spent away from her family.
“Being a train driver is therapeutic and makes you a tourist. Just driving and looking at the vegetation is really heart soothing and clears one’s mind. I travelled to Mozambique and Botswana during my time. I cannot remember all the tourist places in Zimbabwe that I saw because of the routes I used to take,” says the retired lady.
Peggy reluctantly retired in April this year after she reached retirement age. — @flora_sibanda
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