{"id":3989,"date":"2020-10-19T08:23:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T08:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracamacheltrust.org\/?p=3989"},"modified":"2026-01-23T09:55:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:55:38","slug":"business-post-covid-19-bringing-womens-voices-to-the-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/featured\/business-post-covid-19-bringing-womens-voices-to-the-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Post Covid-19: Bringing women’s voices to the centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLockdown has impacted on the livelihoods of everyone, particularly women. Most African economies are informal, and this is where the majority of women work to provide for their families. It is in the formal economy that women are represented in very small and medium enterprises. Here they have also felt the shocks of the pandemic with some of these businesses closing and others struggling to survive.\u00a0It quickly became clear to me that the impact of covid-19 weighs very heavily on women. So, if you want to have any kind of redesigning or reconstruction of the system as a response to COVID-19, you need to bring the voices of women to the centre and listen to their aspirations.”-Gra\u00e7a Machel UNGA journal, Lessons from Leaders September 25, 2020.<\/p>\n

Mrs Gra\u00e7a Machel\u2019s words speak to the reality of vulnerable women in marginalized communities in Katsina, Kaduna and Kano State Nigeria. The women were part of a study by\u00a0Ilizwi-Initiative<\/a>\u00a0which was conducted in partnership with New Faces New Voices Nigeria as part of the Gra\u00e7a Machel\u2019s response to COVID-19.The study focused on the effects of the pandemic on the livelihood of women, their health and children\u2019s education. These are some of their shared experience.<\/p>\n

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NFNV-NIGERIA Field Assistant in Kano with one of the beneficiaries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

55-year-old Zainab Yusuf is married with 9 children and works in the coconut and sesame oil industry in BabbanGiji area of Tarauni LGA in Kano State. \u201cBefore COVID-19, my business was doing well and from the little I made, I was able to provide for my children. But after the lockdown, I had to stop doing the business because the price of the raw materials has gone too high\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rabi Suleiman is a 53-year-old mother of 7 from Charanchi local government area of Kano state. Rabi is a confectionaries trader and her biggest hurdle with Covid-19 was it affected her children\u2019s education because she couldn\u2019t afford private lessons. Her business depends hugely on social events such as weddings and the lockdown and restrictions have led to a drop in business.<\/p>\n

32-year-old Karimatu Ma\u2019aruf is a widow with 7 children and a fashion designer from Kwanar Diso Area, Gwale LGA of Kano state. \u201cBefore the lockdown, I was a fashion designer but due to restriction on movement, it became very hard to make money so I went into the business of making local treats (milk candy) with my children helping me with the production. We manage to push our products to some shops within the community so we can make some money to feed on\u201d.<\/p>\n

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