Their plan labored. At the moment, the Mwani Mamas are the primary era of ladies in Zanzibar to realize monetary independence. They make round $250 to $300 a month, practically double the minimal wage—and about seven instances the quantity they made beforehand. Mwani additionally offers them with full advantages, together with maternity and sick go away, versatile schedules, steady coaching, and versatile loans for big-ticket gadgets like houses. Because of this, they’ve turn into revered leaders of their neighborhood. They can’t solely afford to purchase meals and garments for his or her households, however many have additionally invested in “divorce homes,” i.e. backup homes they will transfer to if and when their husbands go away them. The psychological peace these homes have introduced them is priceless. “As a lady in Zanzibar, you must have a backup home as a result of you may’t assure marriage right here,” one of many Mamas, Patima Haji Pandu, advised me by way of a translator on my first day on the primary island. “So should you can’t afford to construct one, it’s actually annoying since you don’t know the place you’ll go. When you have a backup home, although, there’s no extra stress, as a result of your husband can say, ‘I’m executed with you,’ and you may say, ‘Superb. Goodbye. See you.’ And then you definitely simply transfer. And it’s so releasing.”
