Crocheting for Feminism

The focus this month, teaching women to crochet with plastic bags! Even though this is something I started awhile ago Im just now actually teaching women how to do this. Ive quit waiting around for the president of the womens group to get the group together again. Shes a very busy woman and is away from Bassila quite a bit. Instead Ive been teaching a few women at a time how to crochet and if they want to learn I teach them on the spot, so far Ive taught about 10 or 15 women how to crochet with plastic bags and explained why this is a good project and that the real way to do this is to use the bags that they have collected in the market and wash them instead of throwing them on the ground. This way they are doing a few thigns with one task, they are creating sturdy bags for themselves that they can reuse and also they are not putting bags onto the ground where goats, dogs or children eat them or play with rotting fruit that hides inside them. I think that possibly these less formal teachings will be almost more productive because I can keep better track if they are actually using the skill I teach them. Ive already had some people tell me that they have taught other women how to do this too.
I remember in college my professors saying that womens education and improving womens rights was one way to help less developed countries. I understood that womens education was important, but I didnt understand how important it was. The women in Bassila are the ones who collect fire wood, haul water, cook, go to the market, clean the house, and tend to family gardens. Men work at a professional setting, like a organization, carpenter, or selling goods at a boutique. Even though women are in charge of the home they have little say in anything else. Men run the world here, it is not very often you find women in a position of authority. Women have little opportuntiy to change or impact their world. Crocheting with plastic bags gives women an opportuntiy to improve their community. Its something they can be proud of. Womens vision of what they are capable of here is very limited, basically being mindless babymaking and housekeeping machines, boardering on extream low self esteem. Something that gives them the opportuntiy to improve an aspect of their lives gives these women so much.