Photo by Alison Wright for USAID, Tunisia, Africa
Africa, Tunisia, Douar Hicher. Rihab is single and lives with her parents. She says goodbye to her mother Behija and walks to the bus that is provided for her and her co-workers from the low income Douar Hicher area. The bus ride takes just over an hour to get to the Leoni Mateur car wiring factory in Bizerte where she works. This company employs mostly women as they seem to apply themselves better than men to this specific focused conveyor belt factory work. It also helps give unskilled women employment opportunities, especially since tourism in the country has dropped.
Rihab did not pursue her studies and that’s why she could not apply to other jobs like secretary or assistant. She is happy with her current job in the car cable factory. She is very disciplined and is satisfied with her life. She wishes to stay in this company and get promoted to a supervisor position. She manages to save from her salary and finds it fulfilling because she has a job. Rihab dreams of getting married and having a family. Out of 5000 workers here 80 percent are women. The pay depends on the skill but average about 400 Dinar or $200 a month. Original public domain image from Flickr