Tendai Charamba
With informal trading being a core component of economic life in Zimbabwe, the health of women who have come to play a central role in it has come into greater focus.
In Masvingo, a large number of vendors are concentrated at Chitima Market which continues to expand illegally due to lack of better employment opportunities.
Chitima Market is a one-stop-shop of its own kind where fruits, vegetables, hardware goods and clothes are sold mainly by female informal traders.
The trading is done in shanty structures and in the open air where the surroundings are often polluted by noise, litter and filth.
Sitting in the wide open or without proper shading for much of the day exposes women to direct ultraviolet radiation, a type of electromagnetic radiation which penetrates deep into the skin.
Currently, the sun is hottest between 10am and 4pm which are the prime vending hours when women traders face both opportunities for better sales and personal health risks.
Research shows that prolonged exposure to the sun disrupts the body’s hormonal balance leading to changes in oestrogen levels, resulting in breast cancer development.
While optimum exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a source of vitamin D, extreme exposure contributes to inflammation in the breast tissue, ultimately resulting in breast cancer.
One vendor told this reporter that she did not bother erecting a shade as that would obstruct her view of her surroundings and increase chances of her wares getting confiscated by municipal police.
“At this spot, we often get raided by the municipal police. All the people who work here do not bother erecting shading as that would get them losing their stock more easily. If the structure is destroyed by the police, that becomes a loss,” said the woman.
This reporter discovered that some women have turned to using cosmetics such as sunscreens to protect themselves from the scotching sun.
However, results of studies by the American Cancer Society have concluded that benefits of sunscreens are outweighed by the side-effects.
While dermatologists recommend the use of physical sun-blocks such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide rather than chemical absorbers, the high cost of the former means that some women of Chitima Market use any sunscreen available, and this contributes to hormone-related and reproductive problems.
Being an area of cutthroat competition for customers, the stress and anxiety that come with informal trading at Chitima Market make women susceptible to another silent but grave health risk.
Some studies have confirmed that stress and anxiety weakens the immune system and increase the production of stress hormones such as cortisol which triggers the growth of breast cancer cells.
Former chairperson of female informal traders in the fruit and vegetable section of Chitima Market Tamisai Katini encouraged informal traders to ensure that they work at designated posts where they could ply their trade with less risks.
“Women vendors must ensure that they take advantage of designated vending posts whenever the opportunity comes. We are currently working with authorities to make provision for more suitable spaces that support the health of women traders,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) says it was working for decent working conditions for women as part of part of its economic justice, gender equality and social inclusion advocacy for the informal economy.
