Madam Akpoe’s movement is restricted. Confined to the environs of her home due to an illness that has reduced her mobility, she spends her days looking after her grandchildren and making sure the house is in order.
Of all the women we interviewed, she was one of the few who went to school but, like many of her female classmates, she eventually dropped out because her parents couldn’t pay the fees.
Ever since, she has worked as a trader, selling everything from fish to liquor.
Image: Madam Akpoe speaking at her home in Grand-Popo, Benin.
Image: Ernest Ankomah
African Women Are History! 