Grace Wachira  @yaa_grace

When you visit the City Market in Nairobi, a pungent meaty smell hits you. If you are faint hearted, you might not want to get in, but once you get into the open plan market place, you begin to notice the well set-up meat cuts in inviting displays. 

For us, Stall 38 stood out. From a distance, we saw two women, Milka Wambui and Becky, who declined to give us her second name, going about their business as other butchers warmed up outside their shops in the mid-morning sun.

In a few minutes, they weigh, dice and pack the meat for yet another customer. These girls are busy and we have to wait to get our interview done.  

Milka is in the business of selling meat. She calls City Market her office Mondays through Saturdays.

“My day starts at 5.20am when I leave the house because I need to be at work by 6am,” she says. 

Milka had not envisioned herself working in the meat industry, but that was the card that life dealt her. 

“I used to work at consumer goods manufacturer Unilever Kenya Limited, but five years ago, the company restructured and I was transferred to the Karatina branch,” she says as she dices an already placed order.

She had a daughter in school. “Leaving Kasarani estate for Nyeri county was not something I could contemplate.

We had built our lives here and relocating was not an option, so I decided to try my hand in the meat business. It has been five years of chopping and deboning meats,” she explains.

As soon as she checks into her office, she drapes on a white dust coat and wears an apron.

“Together with my staff, we clean the stall, clean the display and then weigh the overnight stock before making new orders to sustain us throughout the day.

Customers start streaming in as early as 6am, especially those in the hotel and hospitality industry,” she explains.

Even though women in the meat industry are now embraced, one stall at the City Hall owned premises does not employ women.

When Milka set foot in the largely male-dominated market, there were just a handful of females.

“Today we are quite a number,” she notes pointing at her colleague, Becky who is also helping her dice the meat cuts laid out on a huge chopping board.

For her, the most challenging bit was working her hands. “The men possess unique agility when it comes to knifing meat.

That was hard for me in the beginning, but now, I can tell you without doubt that I have honed my skills and I debone and get rid of the unwanted white parts from the steak meat faster than some of them,” she laughs.

The first piece of advice she received when she started working at the meat market came a warning. She was forewarned about sexual harassment at the market place.

“Since there were fewer women than men, the men were fighting for our attention and if not careful you could easily lose focus.

I got the message and ran with it. I am here as an employee and I keep it very professional here. As a woman, I must be very careful with how I conduct myself,” she adds.

Dream to own butchery

It helps that the county sanitation and health policies provide proper guidelines for persons working in the food industry.

“We have to be well dressed, with long dresses or skirts or lessos tied over them as part of the dress code. That way, women’s dignity is preserved and the sexual harassment is near rare. 

On Sundays, Millie as she is fondly referred to, relaxes and bonds with her daughter.

“In this business, you can easily lose yourself, but I pride myself in my principles and I make sure to get the job done.

In fact, when we have family parties back in our rural home, my family depends on me to cut and prepare meat at home because of my expertise,” she chuckles. 

Her mother was proud of her after she landed the job. “Nowadays, you do not get to choose what to do.

If there is an opportunity to work, get the job done and put food on the table. It no longer matters if the field is considered a man’s world.

I pray to God to enable me put up my own butchery in future. It is a good venture,” Milka concludes.