Trading Income for Harassment? The Reality of Women Traders in Africa

"No matter how long the night is, the morning is sure to come," goes a Congolese proverb. Ruth, a cross-border trader in Africa, knows that only too well. She gets up every morning long before sunrise to prepare for the exhausting climb over the border from Rwanda to Congo. Rising early means beating the unbearable heat that makes her journey on foot with a heavy load of maize on her head even more arduous. It means getting to the border crossing before custom officials - who frequently ask her for a bribe or worse - and securing a place at the market ahead of her competitors. After all this, she makes the return journey back to collect water, look after her children and tend the fields.