Mauritius: *Giet

I started attending the entrepreneurship workshop with Gender Links in 2014 but I could not attend phase three of the training because I was sick. Initially, I thought that Gender Links would help me financially to set up my business. I am a retired lady and even my husband is retired. The pension that we receive is not enough to run the house, besides there are other medical cost that I need to cater. Running my home with Rs 10,000 per month is not easy. I even have a grown up son who is living with us.

I always had the passion to cook and since my childhood,  I dreamt of having a small shop for myself. This is still my dream; but an unaccomplished one. I have not been able to set up my business only due to financial difficulties. I thought that I would get help but it was not as easy as it seemed. I do not get a loan from bank and people at the bank would always laugh at me saying that I am greedy, I want to make money and this is why I am asking for loan at such an old age. But this is not the case. I need to set up this business because it is the only way for me to be financially better. I need to set up this business to meet my daily needs. Who would not love to stay at home and enjoy their retirement? I would love to but I believe that life has been very unfair with me.

Since my early marriage years, I have experienced violence from my husband and in-laws. I was always bombarded with work and nobody cared about my happiness and pleasures. I only lived to make others happy. What I realised through this course is that one can be happy even if you are old. I realised a lot on the personal plan for previously I was very attached to the traditional beliefs that women need to be always at the service of their husbands and that the main responsibility of women is to care for the family, cook food, have babies and rear them. My adult life followed this thought.

However, the course of Gender Links has been an eye opener for me. It was the first time that I happened to learn about these issues since these issues of gender, violence, equality and so on was not discussed in my family. It was a taboo for women to leave their husband and family to go out to work. To get a paying employment was believed as a something for men only. I realised that I have grown in a very gender biased environment and I am glad to have learnt about breaking the stereotype through this course. Even if I have not been able to set up my business, the course has helped me enormously to have more confidence in me, to realise my worth, to know my capabilities and overcome my weaknesses. I am ever grateful to Gender Links for the change it has brought in my life and this is something that I am also sharing with my friends and neighbors.