Women in Igembe region of Meru have shattered the tradition of the miraa business being run by men only, no women allowed.
They have worked their way into the lucrative trade, from plucking to trucking to marketing the stimulant that creates a sense of euphoria. Women involved in miraa have been considered immoral.
Women had been prohibited by custom from chewing miraa, or khat, or selling it, but times have changed and women have virtually taken over the business.
In Maua town around, 70 per cent of the miraa traders are women.
Jennifer Kangai, 55, said the business was initially meant for men only and any woman in the lucrative business was shunned.
“Only men were allowed to engage in miraa activities but today women have embraced the business and you will find that the majority of miraa pluckers are women,” Kangai said.
Elizabeth Kananu, a former ECDE teacher now a miraa trader in Maua town, said the miraa business has helped her to educate her four children, two in secondary school and the other two in college.
She said life has taken a turn for the better compared to when she was teaching.
In the streets of Maua, women are busy with miraa business day and night.
The women have also employed men in sorting, packing, recording and loading vehicles that ferry miraa to markets.
Kananu said she had to recruit her husband into the business, which she said she runs from morning until late at night.
“I started the business alone but when things became better, I had to engage my husband to avoid unnecessary quarrels, especially when I reported late from work,” she said.
Halima, who declined to give her surname, said business is good and not not harmful to women since it has helped many women fight poverty and educate their children.
And almost no women chew it.
Halima also appealed to the government to help in opening new markets for the crops to to improve the region's economy.
(Edited by V. Graham)
