Stella Potemkin, Shanta’s first Women’s Empowerment intern, shared a recent experience she had while working with the Fort Lewis College engineering department’s Village Aid Project in our partner villages in Zambia. You can read about the project HERE. She gathered with female People’s Action Forum (our implementing partner on the ground in Zambia) staff, a few other students, and the women of Siyowi for a community-wide women’s discussion.
While they talked about the long-term sustainability of the newly installed infrastructure providing clean water, this meeting became so much more than a conversation about that. This discussion was a safe space, and local women took the opportunity to share their stories and ask us about our lives in the USA. It started with a question posed to the younger generation: “What is life like for young women in America?”. I gave a quick synopsis of my life, my interests, and so did the other Americans. The common thread between our stories was education. All of us had completed high school and went on to pursue a college degree. The local women picked up on this and shared how different women’s educational paths are in rural Zambia.
We heard that girls often drop out of school between the ages of 13 and 15. Some drop out because their parents can’t afford to pay for their schooling. Many others drop out after becoming pregnant. At that point, they either get married or raise the child alone, depending solely on their parents’ support. After having a child, girls rarely go back to school. Some don’t have the time or money to further pursue education while raising a child. Others fear the stigma of returning to school as a mother. One woman shared her story of being forced into an arranged marriage at 14 years old and then going on to have 13 children. When asked if she’d ever shared this experience before, she said no. This women’s meeting was the first time she had a place to talk about what her life was like.
In addition to women caring for children early in their lives, we also heard stories about women supporting their families economically. Many women spend their time tending to gardens, harvesting vegetables, and transporting those vegetables 25 km to Mazabuka to sell them at the market. One woman, Francina, shared how her husband died early in their marriage, leaving her solely responsible for supporting herself and her children. Using her own experience, she encouraged other women in the meeting to develop skills and pursue business ventures.
The stories women shared gave important insight into the countless challenges women face day to day in the region. As a guest in their community, Stella felt so lucky that these women were willing to open their lives and share their experiences with her. This sense of openness during the meeting created an atmosphere where women genuinely listened and validated each other’s experiences. Women’s eagerness to add their voices to the discussion here contrasted with what she saw in larger community meetings with men. When men are present in these large discussions, they take up all the space leaving women to only sit and listen. Here, however, women sharing stories hold power.
The value of women feeling confident in sharing their experiences and stories can’t be understated. On an individual level, women deserve to know that they matter. Creating these supportive spaces allows women to feel understood and valued by one another. Meetings like these are a building block towards empowering women to be problem solvers, leaders, and agents of change for the community.
