The bold and beautiful boda boda riders debunking social myths
What you need to know:
- Recently, women have entered into this informal work debunking the socio-culturist perception that motor machines are the preserve of men.
- No official figures on women who have taken up boda boda business in Kenya but Boda Boda Safety Association of Kenya puts the estimates at more than 150.
Women have made progress in joining the workforce and fighting for equal opportunities.
Today, you will walk into a barber shop and a woman shaves your hair. Similarly, a man will comfortably manicure a woman’s nails in the spa. It is no different with the boda boda business.
Recently, women have entered into this informal work debunking the socio-culturist perception that motor machines are the preserve of men.
There are no official figures on women who have taken up boda boda business in Kenya but Boda Boda Safety Association of Kenya puts the estimates at more than 150. By women taking up the job, they are defying the odds to break free from poverty, economic dependence and unemployment.
Layers of barriers
Generally, there are still 20 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women globally, who believe it is unacceptable for a woman to have a paid job outside the home, reports International Labour of Organisation (ILO).
Therefore, women have to break many layers of barriers to not just get into paid labour but disrupt the social order in male dominated jobs.
The desire to earn an income, educate their children, build better houses for their parents, support siblings and invest, drives the women into finding jobs in boda boda business, a sector contributing to the 83.6 per cent of the informal workforce in Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics figures show.
Nevertheless, it is a work that presents women with a myriad of challenges.
