Last year on International Women's Day, I spent time with market women at Dome market a suburb in Accra -Ghana. At 4:30 am I was by the road side at one of the local bus stop waiting for a commercial vehicle commonly refered to in Ghana as 'trotro' to be transported to the market. For most of these market women, waking up early to catch the first bus is a reguler routine so although it was dawn, the bus stop was much alive with voices of women who were also waiting for the trotro.
Their outlook easily identified them as my target, that is traders. While some were struggling to hold on to their baskets others were battling with their bags of sucks. Baskets and sucks are commonly found with market women who uasually trade in food stuffs such as yam,plantain,cassava palm nuts,tomatoes among others. Considering the time of the day,I spoted only two men among the seven women at the bus stop.
After some few minutes, a trotro stoped over with the mate calling for passengers heading towards Dome. quickly, the women jumped on-board before any of the men could say jack, but well, after some few heckles, i found myself on board too.
My task that day as a journalist was to really find out what these women go through to get to consumers food stuff at the market during the day.
After 48 minute, we got to the Dome market. A scene i will always remember especially on World Women's Day. There were women who had left home to get to the market center to catch the early worm in order to make ends meet,because most of them have become bread winners for the home due to a nuumber of reasons like single parenting.
Some of the women were seriously battling with mosquitoes whiles waiting for the arrivals of goods from their fellow women who had gone to trade from the near by farming communities like Nsawam, Adeso, Suhum and even beyound to transport the farm produce to Accra. As the tracks of load arrived these women carelessly run after the vehicles in an effort to climb and make the best choice before the goods landed.
Amazingly, according to the women, by touching the product from the vehicle, one automatically had the purchasing right over that particular item so to them it was normal irrespective of the dangers involved.
Women traders from various town gradually throne in the market so at 6:30 am the market was virtually full with brisk business ranging from vegetables,tubers,fruits,fish just to mention a few.
As i walked through the market, I attracted the attention of some of the traders who were looking for propective buyers for their product since i was also dressed like a market woman with a basket in hand.
After my observations, i bought some few stuffs to make me establish contact to enable me talk to them.
Some had very interesting stories to share.
I remember a 57 year old plantain seller who travels to the hinter lands to bring food stuffs closer to those in the urban centers telling me how she sometimes have to walk through the bushy areas to carry sucks cassava and bunch plantain to the road side at odd hours when i interviewed her. she lamented about the unsafe nature of their journey as they are mostly attack by arm robbers since they are often suspected to be carrying large sums of monies coupled with the bad nature of the roads.
Some of them shared the ordeals about the number of times they have survive road accident whiles working for their daily bread.
At the time of my departure at 7am. those whom i disclosed my identity to had gone telling their friends about Maame Efua Koomson on PeacFM and they were so happy and grateful.
But the essence of my visit to the Dome market was to for once shift the annual attention giving the few celebrated women in the formal sector in the media any time its IWD to the woman who brings us food closer enough for one to just go to the market and buy.
Its been a year already. Today marks another Day which is being celebrated under the theme "Empowering Rural Women-End Hunger and Poverty"
This theme strikes me so much because with the enthusiasm these women were passionately working with, if stakeholders are to provide good economic structures for women and make equal opportunities for all,that little will go along way in ending poverty in our rural areas which will reduce rural-urban migration.
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