Marriage, businesswomen statement criticised
MBABANE – The bold statement insinuating that marriage is an impediment to successful entrepreneurship in women has received sharp criticism.
The controversial comments were made by Philiswa Dlamini, Promotional Officer under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.
Dlamini, a business woman raised her view during the Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Eswatini seminar, held at the Hilton Garden Inn last week. She said most married women chose to serve and submit to their husbands rather than engage in business, where they were required to invest most of their time.
Dlamini was of the view that while marriage was very important and created by God, it had a negative impact on the growth of women who wanted to take the entrepreneurship route.
Contrary to this assertion, Imbita Women’s Trust Director, Sbongile Shongwe stated that there was a number of married women who were actively running businesses. Shongwe said in the process, women required the support of their husbands.
According to Shongwe, the problems arise when the women do not get the much-needed support from their partners (husbands) and are not involved in decision-making within the household, particularly on the spending of funds generated from their businesses. The director said another challenge was inferiority complex by husbands, as women’s businesses grow, resulting in gender-based violence (GBV) within households.
Shongwe said women were managing both their homes and businesses, investing time in both. “Marriage does not have a negative impact on women who want to take the entrepreneurial route,” said Shongwe.
Balance
She said women were able to balance between their businesses and families. The Eswatini Conference of Churches’ Themba Ngozo said the statement that marriage was a hindrance for women who wanted to take the business route was a bold ‘no’ for him. Ngozo said in the Christian teachings, everything done by wives was in the open and not a secret, hence there was no reason not to support them. “If my wife starts a business, I will support her, especially if I understand the requirements that come with the specific business.”
Ngozo said the challenge would only be when the husband is not on board and does not understand the business. He encouraged married men to support their wives’ initiatives.
Traditionalist Shiyinkhani Msibi said traditionally, it was taboo for women to associate with men, especially when their husbands were not around. Msibi said in terms of appointment to positions in the church, only elderly women should be considered. He said such was meant to avoid any temptation. However, with the evolving times, Msibi said they were now encouraging faithfulness among married couples, adding that when there is trust, nothing is impossible.
He said there was no reason for a man not to allow his wife to venture into business, when everything was in the open. Msibi said women were encouraged to venture into business. He made an example that in the traditional family set-up, the mother was responsible for looking after the crop production to feed the family.
He said above everything, it was trust and the manner that women conducted themselves during the networking sessions. Msibi said if the women dressed respectfully and were decent, then why should they be stopped from networking.