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A Shoemaker Challenges Traditional Gender Roles
While Kaltoum Yagoub performs many of the traditional tasks commonly associated in Darfuri culture with the roles of wife, mother, sister and daughter, she works as a shoemaker, a profession that is typically undertaken by Sudanese men.
By Hamid Abdulsalam
Like many other Darfuri women, Ms. Kaltoum Yagoub plays a vital role in her family and community. However, while she lives and works in El Geneina, West Darfur, and performs many of the traditional tasks commonly associated in Darfuri culture with the roles of wife, mother, sister and daughter, Ms. Yagoub could be characterised as unique in that she works as a shoemaker, a profession that is typically undertaken by Sudanese men, especially in Darfur.
For nearly 30 years, Ms. Yagoub has been making shoes– and also a profit. She says her success can be attributed to patience and dedication in the face of many challenges, including local perceptions related to the traditional roles of women. Ms. Yagoub describes her motivation as being driven by the desire to help other women achieve success. As a result, she now regularly conducts workshops across Darfur to raise awareness about gender issues and women’s rights.
Such workshops, she says, are helping to bring change in her community by inspiring women to pursue education and contribute to their communities in unique ways. While Ms. Yagoub remains a steadfast advocate for girls continuing their education through university, she recounts how she was forced to leave school early because her aging parents were not able to afford her tuition. When she left school, she began to study shoemaking with her older brothers, who were well versed in the practice.
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Read the full article in the July issue of Voices of Darfur. Download the magazine (PDF) here.
Ms. Yagoub finalizes the fabrication of a shoe, making its natural form to sew in the last pieces. Forced to leave school early because her aging parents could not afford her tuition, she began to study shoemaking with her older brothers, who were well versed in the practice. Photo by Hamid Abdulsalam, UNAMID
