The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
IN a society where jobs are stratified and certain jobs are reserved for men while women are generally regarded as mothers and care givers, some women have stood up and taken up the “tough” jobs.
Childhood dreams of being accountants, nurses and teachers can fade in an instant when one has found a new passion. Ms Mugove Badza (36) is one woman who has managed to stand out and be counted alongside men as she has taken up a job many women dread. She is the only female driver at Bakers Inn in Bulawayo.
Almost daily she is behind the wheels of a huge Isuzu truck delivering various confectionaries around the city.
Some see her as a radical but many applaud her for her courage. She had this to say:
“I am a mother of one, Panashe who is in Form Three and I am a truck driver at Bakers Inn. For me to be here it is because of my father who was a strict man. In my family there are five girls and one boy. He always said no job is reserved for men or women. We never had an option to say we will not do jobs for men,” she said.
Sometimes she and her siblings would feel like he was over-working them but if it was not for that she said she would have never been able to reach where she is now.
“I actually thank him for his drilling because now I am able to do any job that comes my way. I am not scared to take up any venture at all,” she said.
Her career at Bakers Inn started a few years ago where she was employed in the slicing department.
She spent some time there and she would marvel at the trucks that will be delivering bread and had the strong desire to drive them.
“I had little money do start lessons to acquire a driver’s license but I saved. First I passed my Class Four which which permitted me to drive small vehicles. Then after taking the Class Four I realised I actually wanted a Class Two which is for the haulage trucks then I was advised that I was able to get a Class Two after having driven for five years. I was a bit destructed but I went on to take the Class Two,” said Ms Mugove.
Determination kept Ms Mugove on her feet as she finally managed to acquire a Class Two licence.
With the burning desire to realising her goal, Mugove then purchased her own vehicle which she used to drive around so that she would get used to the road.
“I did not want to panic or make silly mistakes on the road so I purchased my own car and by this I managed to get used to driving in the city and get acquainted with road signs and rules,” she said.
After working in the production department at Bakers Inn she moved to merchandising and then she was employed as a sales person and driver. She works around the city and delivers Bakers Inn products.
“My typical day starts as early as 6am, I work six days a week. When I’m working outside town I would be at work much earlier, we would leave the factory at 5am meaning that I will have woken up and done all my household chores then go to work,” she said.
She has come across a few challenges as there are some people who feel she could have done other “feminine” jobs like nursing.
“Kombi drivers are the most hilarious when I meet them. They chuckle and say I should come and drive kombis too. Some who would have had a glimpse of me passing through actually follow and take a good look as they will want to be sure that they really saw a woman driving a huge truck like mine,” Ms Mugove said.
She said several female police officers have stopped her at road blocks and commended her for her courage to do what is considered a tough job. She said some women have gone to acquire driver’s licences after being inspired by her.
“I meet different people at the shops I deliver bread and the workers are happy when they see me and they are motivated to equally do the same. It makes me happy that I inspire them,” she said.
However, Ms Mugove said some men get enraged when she makes a mistake on the road.
One challenge that she said affected her in her early days was waking up early in the morning while others were asleep. She said she was then reminded of the days when they would wake up early in the morning in the rural areas and go to the fields and that motivated her to go on.
On the day she got her class two drivers licence she said officials at the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) asked her why she had chosen to take a class two when most women were opting for a class four.
Ms Mugove’s message to women is simple: do not fear and anything is possible.
“Women should not fear or think some jobs are difficult. When you start something like this men can pull you down saying women cannot be truck drivers, the job is for early risers or go and find a simpler job but what you have to do is soldier on. If they can do it why can’t we?” she said.
Ms Mugove, who was widowed in 2005 said many women get a reality check when their husbands die and they are not self-sufficient.
She said when women become clueless on how to support the family following the death of breadwinner at times they take the easiest route out which is selling their bodies which she said is not an option.
She said if women can bring something to the table when the husband is still alive then they can be able to do so in the unfortunate event of death. No job is too big and no person is too small for it!
