The Power of a Luguru Woman
Photo: Carolina Lessa
31st March 2023
Petty Mloka comes from one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in Africa, called Luguru in eastern Tanzania. In the Luguru tradition, women are custodians of the land and representatives of the clan. Children must be named after the mother's clan, and land must be passed down from mothers to daughters, never from fathers to sons.
“My grandmothers were strong. They were the ones leading the family. Everyone would ask them for advice, and they would take a decision on behalf of the clan,” recalls Petty.
In December 2022, Petty was appointed as the Focal Point for Women at the Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) with the aim of supporting the Head of RSCE in achieving gender equality. One of her main roles is similar to her grandmoms in the clan: she is responsible for counseling, advising, and assisting more than 200 female staff in issues related to their career development and conditions of service.
Gender disparity in the RSCE lies at D category, P3, and P4 positions. There are no women occupying the D category, while for P3 the gender rate stands at 35% for women and 65% for men, and for P4 at 10% for women and 90% for men. Petty hopes that women will represent between 47% to 53% of these positions in the future.
Every time there is a recruitment process going on, Petty is invited to participate. By doing so, she can advise managers on choosing female candidates who meet the criteria and support them if they do not. Besides being the Focal Point for Women, she is the Career Development Officer in the Human Resources and Talent Management Unit (HRTMU). Many roles in one.
“People think you need to be the best of the best to get the position, but I remind hiring managers that we can select a female candidate and, if there is a gap, we can introduce them to coaching sessions. We give them priority coaching slots and dedicated profile review seminars”, she explained.
In addition, Petty wants to make women’s initiatives in the base gain more visibility. For that, she has launched the Women’s Focal Point Committee composed of six members, balanced in gender. Its purpose is to brainstorm actions that can benefit women. “For example, one of the things under development is a nursery station to support lactating mothers to have a place where they can do this in comfort and privacy during working hours,” she said.
The nursery will be implemented in the first quarter of 2023 and will be located in container B, next to the security checkpoint. All equipment except four reusable breast pumps have been purchased. “It is not easy to obtain the breast pumps on the local market, as it is not a cultural practice in Uganda yet,” she explained.
Powerful, respectful, and wise are three words that can describe the Luguru women and so is Petty Mloka.
When she left her home country to serve on her first UN mission in Sierra Leone, in 2002, her daughter was only 6 months old. She did not have the support from the organization as female staff now have. She had to bear the weight of her decision on her own. “The first time I visited my daughter three months after I had left, she did not recognize me. It is a guilt you carry your whole life,” she sobbed.
However, unlike many women who are criticized by their clan, tribe, religion, or family when they leave home to seek better opportunities, Petty was not. She had the full support of the Lugurus.
“Many women in the UN are either separated, single or divorced. In certain cultures, it causes some pushes and pulls when women earn the same or more than men. When the woman sees that her partner is not doing as much as her with the money, resentment steps in”, she told.
After nearly 23 years serving the UN and three children raised remotely, Petty is proud of her achievements as a working mom. Now, when she looks for a new assignment, she keeps in mind:
“How many flights will I have to take to see my children again?”
Access on issuu.com/regionalservicecentreentebbe/docs/rsce_newsletter_edition_10/s/21864533
