Their first-hand accounts highlight the often-overlooked challenges and disruptions that threaten their economic stability and daily routines.
It is an indisputable fact that women vendors play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of nations.
Most of the women, who spoke to this medium, lamented how the exercise has adversely affected them in terms of their earnings to be able to provide for their families.
In an interview with The Point, Fatou B. Jallow, a fruit-street vendor, explained that she had been selling on the highway for over 10 years.
She claimed that she wasn't aware of the mass demolition exercise by NRA and that since police began their operation and ordered that all street vendors should leave the highway, her life is no longer what it used to be.
“It turns my life into a devastating situation because the business is where I earn a living for my family and pay school fees for my children. After an encounter with the Police on that day, I cried bitterly knowing that I have no other means at this age to earn a living than selling fruits.” she said
She bemoaned that this is not the first time that she had encountered the police enforcement unit, recalling that the last time, the police took away her two cartoons of apple and 10 cartoons of dates, among others and threw her stalls away.
Isatou Nyabally, a vendor at Tanji outlined the important role of Gambian women in providing for their families, saying they continue to go through difficulties to earn a proper living.
“The basic food commodities alone are expensive, quality education too is not an exception and most of the times, their husbands alone cannot do all that.”
This, she added, had forced some especially single parents to sell in the market to make ends meet, saying they wake up early in the morning to struggle to earn and live a better life for themselves and their families.
“It is true that the road clearing was something in the public interest, but it could be been done in a better manner because we were not informed and the market space is too small.”
Nyabally thus appealed to government for help with a good market structure as many of them lost their usual selling points.
Another vegetable vendor, Isatou Jatta, expressed similar sentiment, pointing out that vegetable vendors at Brusubi Turntable were shocked when they were told the announcement that there will be mass demolition exercise along the streets was made on both television and radios.
“They told us that we are being warned to leave the road side and failure to comply may lead to prosecution.” said the vendor.
Fatou, another vendor, revealed that the whole issue was unbearable to her with all the concomitant expenses, her only business is ending because it is not making any progress.
She thus called on government come to their aid and empower the victims of the road clearing exercise by way of compensation or a good location that they can sit and do their businesses.
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