“ONE ASARA, one asara Copacabana,” a female voice pierced
the air as a commuter omnibus pulled out of the road.
When
I glanced at the kombi, I saw a pint-sized chubby woman standing next to the
kombi who said to me, “Huya uende neya
mother yazara.”
In
the blink of an eye, another kombi pulled right in front of me and the bloke
said to me,
“Huyai tiende neyazara iyi sister. ”
A “cold war” erupted right in front of me as the
two “fought” on who was going to get the passenger.
I saw myself walking towards a white kombi which
was painted garishly, (well, all kombi’s are now colorful these days although
this one was too much.)
It was not the bright orange and green colours that
attracted me to it.
It was the way the conductor had fought her
battle to win me over.
She stood her ground demanding that I was her
rightful passenger.
Emily Chiponda as I later learnt has been in the
transport business for the past 15 years, yes for more than a decade.
“Dealing with these boys is the last thing on my
mind. All I just want to do is to fill up my kombi and make sure that my
passengers are happy and comfortable,” she said.
The 43-year-old mother of two, who divorced in
the 1990’s, has placed herself at the helm of “emancipation” of women in the
division of labour.
Emily is one of the many women who have removed
the “stigma tag” that is carried by a job title.
Being a bus conductor is considered a man’s job
because of its nature.
As a result it is a male dominated field.
“My husband left me and I had to fend for our
two children. I was not employed and I did not have any formal qualifications
or training so I approached my friend who was working at Sagombetu Bus
Services,” Emily said.
Emily was hoping that she could get a job to
fend for herself and children.
As she wiped the sweat on her brow while narrating
her story on this hot winter afternoon, the famous words of her namesake Emily
Dickson rang in my head,
“HOPE is the thing with
feathers, that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words, and
never stops at all and sweetest in the gale is heard.”
Emily
told me how she had looked for a job in all “the industries” and failed to get
one.
It
was only one thing that kept her moving forward and brought her to one Mr Dube
a transport operator, HOPE.
She
had the hope that she would get a job so at that time she was looking for a job
she did not enhance herself with an education but went on to look for the job
that she got.
It
was hope perched in her soul and her hope was furnished in totality.
“I
took the job because I wanted to take care of my kids,” she said simply.
There
are some jobs that are regarded as “male jobs” because of their nature.
Being
a conductor or hwindi calls for one to have great people skills, strength and resilience
but above all being calculative and expecting anything.
“I started working as a conductor since 1998 up
until now and I don’t have any hopes of retiring soon. The money I have earned
is the money that has taken my kids to school and fed them,” she added.
Now
a grandmother, Emily loves her job and does it so well,
“One asara Copa Cabana,” has become
Emily’s anthem.
Emily
has also earned herself the title “Engine” from her colleagues from Beedzo Transport
where she has been employed for the past two years.
The
name came after the foreman was pleased with the way she was performing on her
job and he started saying “Mother muri engine yebhazi.”
Emily’s
job description does not come easy just because she is a woman she does what is
expected of any conductor.
Apart
from collecting money from the passengers, Emily can also do all the tricks of
standing by the door with one hand holding on while gesticulating with the
other to invite passengers while the car is in motion.
“The job does not come easy. I have to make
sure that we do not miss any passengers and I also have to fill up the kombi.
The most difficult task is when you don’t have change and everyone is baying
for your blood,” Emily said.
“I
have developed relations with the people and some even leave their change and
come back later. They just look for me at the rank. It easier for them to trust
me because they regard me as their mother.”
Emily’s
colleagues showered her with praises,
“She
is very easy to work with because of her sociable character. We all love and
respect her and we take her as our mother. We cannot even compare her to other
men because she works harder than them,” said a driver from Beedzo Transport.
Emily
starts work at 4am and finishes at 7pm and her bus plies the Dzivarasekwa-City
Centre route.
“I
am not sure how many trips we have a day as it’s the driver who records them. I
earn enough money to sustain myself ,” Emily highlighted.
Life
has not always been rosy for the grandmother, who has often been ridiculed,
“It
is mostly women who ridicule me. They laugh and say how can you do a man’s job?
“Some
have asked how I manage to do all these things considering my weight and body
size. That does not hinder me at all. I can do anything,” she said.
“Well,
there is no job for men and neither is there any job for women. It is one’s
mindset that ushers them to think that. I can do all the things that the next
person can do. Give yourself a chance and an opportunity you will be surprised
at what you can do.”
Emily
who hails from Gutu in Masvingo says she is happy that her hope saw her making
achievements in life,
“I
sustained myself and kids with the money I earned through this job. I am happy
with what I have done. My children are now grown up and have their own
families.”
A
lot of women have taken up jobs that have been regarded as masculine jobs.
Women
can never be equal to men but they also need the same opportunities.
Equality
is not about taking the place of the man because even the Bible states that the
man is above the woman, it is the equal access to opportunities in jobs and
other aspects of life.
