Abdoulie G. Dibba
Women in the rural area are lamenting the early setting in of old age
due to lack of labour saving devices in their work and which takes a
heavy toll on their health and physical well being.
According to them, the daily drudgery which characterize their lives
is what makes them look older than their age.
“I’m 38 years old now and have been married for the past 21 years but
I look far older than my age because of the hard physical work I do
both at home and in the fields,” said Mariama Njie of Memeh in Jokadu, North Bank Region (NBR).
She noted that the time and energy they spend on fetching water
from deep wells for household needs, the pounding of cereals for
the daily meals, the laundries, the cooking, the farm work and the
little time they have to rest as well as the poor diet, all combine heavily weigh down negatively on their general wellbeing.
Mariama said if they are assisted with labour saving devices such as
milling machines, hand pump wells, etc. in their communities, then the
phenomenon of having young rural women of her age appearing older
will be a thing of the past.
“Our health and physical wellbeing can be guaranteed if there is no
drudgery at both household and farm levels,” she said.
Fatou Ceesay of Pussimutu in Sabach Sanjal said the lack of labour
saving device in their work is sending them to their graves earlier
than it should have been under a system that is supportive of rural
women.
“We will be empowered if the physical hard work we do in our
homes and farms is reduced or eliminated by providing us
with the necessary tools and facilities,” she added.
She reiterated the negative effect that the pounding of cereals, fetching of
water and farm work as well as the poor nutrition have on their health and physical appearance.
