By Precious D. Freeman
A 2019 graduate of the United Methodist University (UMU) in Sociology and Management, Clavenda M. Yallay, is encouraging all women to take the bull by the horns and explode in all other fields and avenues, in order to gradually get on par with their male counterparts in a competitive society.
She said, “There is no time to be wasted for women anymore because the time is now, and we need to make use of every opportunity in order to actively impact the larger society.”
Madam Yallay, who is a commercial kehkeh rider, added that some people commend her whenever they see her in traffic, while some bully her and ask her lots of unnecessary questions, since it is relatively strange to see a woman in the traffic in Liberia, least to talk about riding kehkeh, “but I keep my focus,” she said.
She continued that with a few days into the field, it has been challenging, but at the same time, rewarding for her, noting that she got involved into the sector after one of her sons, whom she trusted, let her down.
She made the remarks when she was interviewed by this paper while on one of her kehkeh riding duties, adding that the paradigm appears to be gradually shifting, especially with the involvement of women in key sectors, including occupying of strategic positions in government and the private sector.
“I am also a local contractor and I raised some money over the period, which I used to get a loan in order to get into the tricycle business. I entrusted one of my sons but he failed to live up to the agreement, so, in order to pay the people’s money, I got into the traffic myself,” she explained.
Mardea, as she is normally called, used her versatility as a driver and former motor cycle rider to take just a day to get adjusted into the kehkeh riding and is now helping herself in the absence of a paid job as a university graduate.
She told our reporter that she is now riding on the Dry Rice Market to Johnsonville Road, as well as Mount Barclay Junction, including Barnesville Junction to Dixville, where she is so far familiar with.
“As a lady, I ride along these routes and I make use of the pavement of the road to make my money,” she added.
She explained that as a female kehkeh operator, she normally begins work at 8am and closes at 7pm for security and safety reasons.
“I make L$4,000 to L$5,000 daily and I save some of the money in order to pay the people’s loan, and the balance, I use it for my family. I have a four-year-old daughter who is now in school,” she added.
Mardea, one of the very few female kehkeh riders in Liberia, is now making use of the transport sector to help her family as she anticipates getting a bigger job as per her qualification as a graduate of Sociology and Management.
She asserted that even though the gap is still wide, but their focus to be represented in other sectors is still a challenge, but not impossible to be achieved, especially with the gradual progress being made.
“Currently and unlike before, women of Liberia are now making their presence felt in the transport sector of Liberia; the transport sector is now witnessing the active participation of women, especially in the local traffic space,” she said.
“Over the period, all sectors of the country have been actively and dominantly occupied by males; however, the paradigm appears to be gradually shifting, especially with the involvement of women in key sectors, including the occupying of strategic positions in government and the private sector,” she said.
She stated that as a licensed Custom Brooker and a contractor, but without contract now, she is hoping for the best, especially if given the chance and opportunity to serve or for possible contracts, including employment.
“The country is what it is now, but we need not to fold our hands. We have to look for means to make a living in the absence of jobs,” she encouraged her female colleagues and male counterparts too.
Mardea, who does not have a husband, as a single parent riding kehkeh to sustain her kid, hopes for the bigger picture to come.
Like Mardea, there are other strong, productive, and passionate Liberian women who are braving the storm and are trying to make an impact on the larger society whilst breaking the glass ceiling to avoid doing business as usual.
