‘Some Northern Men’ Accused Of Putting Burden On ‘Kayayei’

It has emerged that the majority of head porters, popularly known as ‘Kayayei’, who migrate from northern Ghana to the south for greener pastures do so just to make their spouses happy.

According to the Head Porters Association of Ghana, Hajia Adiza Zongo Panior, the husbands and boyfriends of the women who come to Accra venture into the ‘kayayei’ business make material demands that put an excessive burden on their lives.

Narrating what ‘kayayei’ go through to the media, Hajia said the quest to meet ‘Kayayeis’ husbands’ demands back home sometimes forces the head porters to starve.

“When the girls are coming to Accra or Kumasi, their husbands will give them a tall list of items to buy for them on their return home,” she alleged.

The lists, she said include items such as motorbikes and expensive phones, items that the ‘kayayei’ who make less than GH¢200 a day can hardly afford

The head porters, whose number currently stands at about 1,500 in Accra and Kumasi, she said, opt to sleep in slums, streets, and in makeshift structures.

“The kayayei don’t eat good food because they want to save money to buy the motorbikes and mobile phones for their husbands,” she said.

Even more worrying, she said, is how even pregnant women are forced to come down south to seek greener pastures to take care of their families back home.

“I don’t know whether is it juju. No matter what you tell them, these girls will still starve themselves to raise the money to meet the demands of their husbands,” Hajia Adiza disclosed.

Hajia Adiza also added that most of the married young women who cannot meet such demands remarry in the cities and never return home.

“We want the government to intervene and talk to the men in the north because the girls are suffering,” she claimed.

SOURCE: adomonline