SWAZI WOMAN, RECESSION

Sir,

Have you seen the Swazi woman lately since the onset of the recession? Gone are the luxury tear rubber 4x4 wheel drive cars: Lexus, BMWs etc. As the old sources of funds are drying up, bend down boutiques are back in vogue.

The old Christian Dior dresses are back but this time modifications are added; a beautiful lihiya here and a patch here or there. Designers have lost nearly all their Swazi customers. Tailors are making a fortune through sewing. I must say many of the ladies look even more fetching and beautiful in these attires. It is as if they all have understood that you can dress well without breaking the bank or the bank of their husbands.

Swazi women have cut down on the cosmetics they use and are shopping more sensibly. As money dries up, they now eat less and probably better.
Wives serve smaller potions to their husbands who cannot complain because they give less to their wives. Women have gone back to their natural hair that had been suffering as a result of Brazilian hair for the past few years. They now plait their hair in various old African styles.

The cornrows and the hair button styles are in. The head scarf has reappeared but this time with good taste.
So the Swazi woman has moved from the ridiculous to the sublime. It would seem that our women understand the recession more than government. When you are in a recession, you cut down on your spending.

That is why our women have changed their hairdressers, restyled old clothes, returned their hair to normal, they buy local scarves to enhance their looks and even go to bend down boutiques and still have enough savings for rainy days. They eat less and make everybody in the household do the same.

How come government has not learnt this? The Swazi woman does not borrow money to pay to cook, or buy gold or keep an expensive car she knows she cannot afford. All of us remember the ingenuity of our moms in the kitchen at hard times; how they could turn leftover food into a delicious repast. I know some of you will say the Swazi economy would be better in the hands of a woman.

Would she control the oozing corruption in government? Can a woman keep on borrowing mindlessly just for the fun of it without a thought, borrow to pay debts and borrow more again without a plan of how to pay for what we borrow?
But seriously, suppose a woman was a Minister of Finance? Men fool themselves when they think they are the head of the family. Look well, you would see that the real ruler and diplomat is the wife.

Colleen Matsebula.

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