For years, women in some of the fishing communities around Lake Victoria have been disadvantaged, disempowered even abused.
In their quest to make a living form themselves and their families, the women are forced to engage in degrading practices.
Some fishermen on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria have often been reported to demand sexual favours from the women before selling their fish to them.
The rule here is quite simple; no sex, no fish. If the women don’t consent to the demeaning practice, they don’t get to purchase fish for their businesses, ultimately having to go hungry – and that applies to their families too.
The practice, commonly known as ‘Jaboya’, has been credited with the huge number of HIV/AIDS infections around the lake region.
A project in Kenya is however changing the story. The project named ‘No Sex For Fish’ is giving the women a chance to get ahead on the lake – on their own terms. It helps the women acquire boats of their own, where they can employ fishermen, eliminating their worries of having to sell their bodies for the fish.
The project that began in 2011 as a test project – One woman, one boat – has since become one of the most empowering initiatives for women in the fishing communities in Kisumu and Homa Bay. Now six years and 34 boats later, hundreds of women have gained control of their own businesses and perhaps most importantly their own bodies too.
