Tanzania: Woman miner on how she had to disguise as a man to overcome cultural barriers in mining sector
"I became a man, just to access the mines”
Pili Hussein is Tanzania’s first woman miner, who disguised herself as a man to access the Tanzanite mines. During the week, she worked alongside men in the mines and on weekends, as a farm hand. Today, she has 70 employees, a mining license, and wants to make sure that the next generation of women miners don’t face the same barriers as she did.
"I was 31 when I ran away from my abusive husband’s home and made my way towards the Mererani mines at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I had heard that a few grams of the famed blue stone—the lucky Tanzanite—sold for thousands of shillings. When I arrived in Mererani, I was told that women were not allowed to enter the mines. I didn’t know if the law forbid women or the men didn’t think women could do the job. I secretly followed some men into a mine and watched them dig and sieve the dirt for raw tanzanite. I thought to myself, I can do this too. Why should it matter that I am a woman?
That day I took on the name of Mjomba Hussein (Uncle Hussein). My ski cap hid my hair and part of my face. I abandoned my skirt for loose trousers and long sleeved shirts. I worked alongside men for 10 – 12 hours every day; they never suspected that I was a woman. I drank Konyagi (local gin) and joked with the men about which village women I liked. The miners treated me as an equal and even sought my counsel. I was able to convince them to stop harassing the village women."