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“But if you look into her eyes, you’ll see the strength of a woman.” — Orville Richard Burrell, Jamaican musician
For a moment, you’d almost forget that they’re supposed to be the ‘weaker vessels’. For hours, they’re hardly weighed down by that tag.
Traditionally, men have almost always been tasked with the duty of breadwinning; assigned to women is the ‘simpler’ responsibility of making a home and raising the children in it. The changing of times, however, have triggered a not-so-slight shift in roles.
Yes, men largely retain their natural head-of-the-home slot and are no closer to taking charge of the kitchen, yet — and this is no nod to y’all overzealous feminists — women are blossoming rapidly into an equally significant economic influence on many households — like the one I grew up in, for instance.
Generally, men still take on the harder, more taxing work. But, these days, women graft just as hard, and nowhere is their strenuous hustle more visible and admirable than in Ghana’s many marketplaces. Behind their wares they sit all day, generously dishing out compliments to passing strangers in the hopes of converting them into patrons.
It doesn’t always work out that way, of course, in which case an altogether different tactic — albeit to the same, if not greater, effect — is employed: pick up the goods on sale, carry them around, and seek out many more prospective customers.
Either way, at the end of the day, a smile breaks out on a tired face. Manly shoulders do bear much of the world’s weight, but it’s women — the real MVPs, when you think about it — who keep it all together with their sweat, toil, and ambition.
Here’s to them.
Images: DreamGene Photography
Text: NY Frimpong
Source: Daily Mail GH