From the Shore

Fishing is the primary economic activity in the coastal village of Shimoni, Kenya, but women are excluded. According to Muslim tradition, public bathing for women is considered immodest; therefore, only boys are taught to swim and can do the work of fishing. The Shimoni Women's Group, with the aid of a local development agency, was founded as a cooperative business venture that provides not only a building for its 35 members to do handicrafts for sale, but also organizes mutual support activities such as child care, literacy education, and financial aid in times of need. Its most recent endeavor has been to arrange financing for the women to purchase a boat and establish a fishing business that relies on hired fishermen as employees. This obvious defiance of tradition in search for a more independent existence for the women was originally met with astonishment and resistance, but has gradually become accepted by the community., Fishing is the primary economic activity in the coastal village of Shimoni, Kenya, but women are excluded. According to Muslim tradition, public bathing for women is considered immodest; therefore, only boys are taught to swim and can do the work of fishing. The Shimoni Women's Group, with the aid of a local development agency, was founded as a cooperative business venture that provides not only a building for its 35 members to do handicrafts for sale, but also organizes mutual support activities such as child care, literacy education, and financial aid in times of need. Its most recent endeavor has been to arrange financing for the women to purchase a boat and establish a fishing business that relies on hired fishermen as employees. This obvious defiance of tradition in search for a more independent existence for the women was originally met with astonishment and resistance, but has gradually become accepted by the community.