Moses likes women look good They’re all beautiful, says young Lusaka manicurist

By ANN ZULU

“I HAVE great interest in making women look good and more attractive,” 26-year-old manicurist Moses Phiri told this reporter.

And just from his facial expression as he does the nail art, one could tell that the young man enjoys what he does.

This reporter was recently in Lusaka’s Kamwala trading area when it ran into Moses.

‘‘Moze’’ Phiri attends to a customer at Kamwala trading area.

He was working on the nails of a woman and five others were waiting to be attended to.

Moze, as he is fondly called by his customers, told the Daily Nation that all women are beautiful and that he enjoys making them look good.

He said that the first time he saw men making women’s nails he felt it was like magic.

“It was something unique; I felt inspired and I told myself that if he can do it, then I could do it too.

‘‘I got so much interested and I would go to Kamwala just to learn how to make nails from my friends who were already manicurists and in three months, I learnt the art,” he said.

According to him, he makes about K1,000 per day when business is good and this has been the source of his livelihood.

“When business is good, I receive over 15 customers and I charge them K60 per pair. If they want both their hands and toe nails to be done the amount doubles to K120,” he said.

Asked whether he enjoys making women’s nails being a man, he responded that he loved it because it was his source of income.

 “I enjoy it a lot because I make a lot of money and I am saving to enable me attend college. I get more customers than ladies who do this job. I learnt it, I didn’t jump into it. So I do it better than them,” he said.

In the beginning Moses had a challenge finding customers due to competition.

“At first it was very difficult for me to find customers, because there were other people already doing this same business and they were good. But as time went by, customers realised my potential and started coming to me to get their nails done,” he said.

And a lady whose nails he was making at the time the Daily Nation visited him, showered praise on ‘‘Moze’’, saying he was the right person to do her nails.

“There is no problem with a man doing my nails, I see it as normal. It’s not like I prefer a man but to be honest Moze is the best person that can fix my nails,” she said.

The young male manicurist encouraged fellow youths to find ways of creating employment for themselves and lessen the pressure on the Government to provide jobs for them.

He believes that young people can make a difference and also contribute to the development of Zambia because they are more energetic.

“With current high levels of unemployment youths should stop being dependent on Government, but should rather create jobs for themselves and others.

“They should venture into business just like I have done and to generate income for themselves, not depend on Government for everything,” he said.

Women entrepreneurs....... Constance starts own restaurant to break dependency syndrome

By ANN ZULU

GONE are the days when men were men, and women were owned by those who could afford them.

But nowadays women do not have to rely on men to survive or meet their daily obligations.

Constance preparing meal for her customers

With the current economic situation, women either married or single are required to be financially independent.

Although the Zambian culture indicates that it is the primary responsibility of the husband to provide for the needs of his wife and family, there is need for women to complement the efforts and contributions of men.

For instance, there are certain needs of women that may not be provided for by their husbands, especially when they are personal.

Constance Lungu, 34, runs a restaurant at Lusaka’s famous ‘‘Matebeto’’ in Lusaka’s Thorn Park area.

Apart from being a business lady, Constance is married and has four children.

She said she decided to open a restaurant because she wanted to provide for her personal needs and also assist her husband in taking care of the family.

She praised her husband for having supported her and helped her with the capital to start her business.

“My husband is a very good man, he always supports me when I am doing something right and of benefit to the family. I decided to open a restaurant because I realised that my husband was struggling to look after the family alone, so I saw the need for me to help him as his wife.

“Through my restaurant business, I am now able to provide for my own needs and that of the family. I don’t always have to ask for money from my husband to buy myself something or for the family,” Constance said.

She encouraged other women to engage in business, saying that there were a lot of business opportunities that they could venture in.

Ms Lungu believes that women too could make it in the business sector just as their male counterparts.

She added that employment did not only mean working for somebody but that one should be innovative and generate ideas that would even create jobs for others.

“There are a variety of business opportunities in this country that can be seized and exploited, all we need is for women to get out of their comfort zones and identify their skills and pursue such opportunities,” she said.

She reiterated the need for women to change their mindset and stop being dependent on men.

She said financial independence among women would also help to reduce the high levels of Gender Based Violence (GBV) against women in Zambia, as dependence on men was one of the causes of the vice.

“Being dependent on men is old fashioned and we need to stop that. Women must endeavour to be financially independent because dependency on men is one of the causes of GBV. Some men are difficult and stingy when it comes to money and this might even bring about a fight,” she said.

Ms Lungu advised women to be disciplined in the manner they handled their earnings and urged them to develop a culture of saving as opposed to spending all the money they earned.

“Women also need to cultivate the habit of saving; this is very important because the money saved can help them during their rainy day or invest in something big,” she said.

Woman of the Week

MAME: Misozi Mwanza Mwape

OCCUPATION: Mining Engineer

FAVOURITE QUOTE: Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle, life is a journey, not a race.

Misozi is 31 years old and she was the only female to graduate from the Copperbelt University (CBU) - School of Mines in 2010. She is currently employed by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and married with two children.

Expectant mother protest poor roads

By ANN ZULU

POOR road network in Katuba constituency has made it very difficult for women to access health services from the nearest clinics.

Melody Chileshe (39), a resident of Katuba in Katuba constituency of Chibombo district who is five months pregnant walks a distance of about 15-kilometers to attend her monthly clinic at the nearest health centre.

Expectant mother walking to a nearest health center

There are no public buses that go to the area because of the deplorable state of Chikumbi Road.

During the rainy season, the road gets flooded and small vehicles cannot pass through because of the pools of water that collect.

The residents here only use big trucks as their mode of transport, but for women in Melody’s condition who cannot manage to climb such truck, they have no option but to walk, hence making it hard for them to access health services.

It is not only sad but also dangerous for a pregnant woman to walk long distances considering the fact that the environment is not friendly.

Melody told this reporter that it has been hard for her and her family.

She said she gets tired of walking, but that she had no option because in her condition, she needs the health services.

“This has been hard for me; there are no buses that come to this place because of the bad state of the road, except for big trucks which are not safe for women in my condition.

“If it wasn’t for my condition, I wouldn’t have been walking much. So, I think this could be my last pregnancy. I have three children and I have endured this every time I get pregnant, but now I think I can’t do it anymore,” Melody said.

An investigation conducted by the this reporter in the area revealed that the situation had also led to pregnant mothers to deliver on their way to the health centre.

“This led to women to deliver at home which claimed some women’s lives. Some residents have even been forced to move to other areas where there are buses,” says Patricia Mayaya, another resident of Katuba ward.

And the area ward councillor Sibanda Chitambala is aware of the situation.

Mr Chitambala said the situation with the roads becomes worse during the rainy season when the roads become very slippery and at times impassable.

He said this had made it even harder for pregnant mothers to access health services.

“The Chikumbi road, as you can see, is in a very dilapidated state. If it was in a good state, vehicles owners would have brought their vehicles and made transport easier especially during the rainy season.

 “This has made it hard for pregnant mothers as they are being forced to walk long distances to reach health centres,” Mr Chitambala said.

But to help save lives of people in the area, especially pregnant mothers, residents have teamed up and started working on the road to make it passable.

Team leader Susan Mwelwa said the residents; most of whom were farmers donated machinery and other heavy equipment such as tipper trucks and graders to be used in the rehabilitation works.

Ms Mwelwa said the church in the area had also joined in the project by providing manpower.

She, however, implored government to come on board and supplement the efforts of the community by considering tarring the road as soon as possible.

“We have been finding it difficult to ferry patients’ especially pregnant women to the nearby hospital because of the poor state of the same road. So, as residents, we have decided to work on the road and make it passable,” she said.

The situation in Katuba calls for effectiveness in the management and utilisation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

There is need for the area Member of Parliament and other relevant authorities in the area to ensure that the CDF is utilised for its intended purpose which is to empower the community by providing a pot of funding for development projects such as roads, health and education among others.

UK-based Zambian music promoter nominated for Women4Africa Awards

By ANN ZULU

THE role of women in the entertainment industry has become an increasingly present topic as women from all walks of life, says UK-based Zambian music promoter and nominee of the Women4Africa Awards Jasmine Kasoma.

 Zambian music promoter - Jasmine Kasoma

Jasmine 25, is the founder and boss of Zeemusic, a company whose main objective is to promote and manage Zambian artists.

The company has helped local artists like Willz, Bacci and Zack among others to promote their songs.

She is one of the nominees in the Young Achiever Awards category in the prestigious Women4Africa Awards to take place in London on the 20th of May this year and would compete with three other contestants from Nigeria, Ghana and Jamaica.

Jasmine was nominated for the impact she is making in the entertainment industry and also for coming up with the first ever ZeeMusic creative Awards last year, which encompassed all sectors of the Zambian entertainment industry.

She said she is thrilled by the nomination because it was the first time that Zambia has been nominated in the awards.

“I am really proud because Zambia has never really been nominated in these awards and I honestly didn’t expect it. It is really nice to be recognised for what you do,” she said.

Jasmine is one of the extraordinary women making a mark in Zambia’s entertainment industry and she said she wants to ensure that women in the industry continue to move forward with their male counterparts and work as equals.

She told the this reporter that her goal is to promote and empower artists especially women to embrace their artistry with confidence and help them make it to the top.

She said she wants to take women in music from Zambia and show them that they were marketable across the world.

“Zee music is a music management company and it is also a distribution department. It manages artists and that includes working on their branding, music distribution and marketing.

“What I am trying to achieve with Zee Music is to help Zambian artists especially women realise that they can take their sounds out there. My goal is to promote and empower them and in the future I hope it will be established into a record label, but for now I am focusing on artist development,” she said.

She observed that despite women joining the entertainment industry, there was an overarching lack of gender equality in the music industry.

She said there was still a long way to go as there were few women musicians and women working behind the scenes in positions like producers, engineers and executives.

She said men were exempt to the stereotypes and double standards that women regularly face which act as hindrances for women to join the industry.

“There are less female voices overall in the music industry because of stereotypes which involves things like reluctance to hire women (under the assumption that they’re going to leave the work force to have children and/or become stay-at-home mothers),” she said.

Jasmine, however, encouraged women wanting to pursue a careering in music not to feel intimidated, but to always hope for the best and work hard.

She urged them to be fully focussed in order to accomplish their goals, as the industry was a challenging one especially for women.

“Actually, the advice I give female artists is to hope for the best and be strong because pursuing a career as an artist is no joke. They must be ready to get sized up, compared, measured, and tested. They should always maintain their passion and never sidetrack their mission because the industry can be intimidating,” said.

She also emphasised the need for more women to take up managerial roles in entertainment.

She believes that women could bring in a level of motherly touch which was lacking in the industry.

Jasmine holds a degree in music industry management from the London Metropolitan University. She also has diplomas in IT and Community Arts.

She has also worked with high profile international artists like Lady Leshurr, Cold play and Rolling stones.