New York Times
AS Iver Rosenkrantz and Patrick Tendayi Zindoga drove through the fertile countryside of northern Zimbabwe one day in late 2018, they noticed something out of the ordinary: A woman who had just started plowing a field with a few oxen under the scorching sun was entirely on her own.
The business partners, who had recently acquired almost 125 acres nearby to mine aquamarine, took note because subsistence farmers rarely work alone, usually having the help of their children or other people.
Several hours later, when they drove by the field again, they were impressed by her progress. “She’s so strong,” Mr. Rosenkrantz recalled thinking at the time, “she would put any man to shame.”
In Zimbabwe, Women Dig for Aquamarine
Lots of women work at small-scale mines in Africa, but only one site boasts an all-female team. “At first I thought it was a dream,” one worker said.
Above, women digging for aquamarine at Zimbaqua, a mine outside the small town of Karoi, Zimbabwe.Credit.Iver Rosenkrantz/Zimbaqua
By Ginanne Brownell
May 23, 2021, 5:09 a.m. ET
As Iver Rosenkrantz and Patrick Tendayi Zindoga drove through the fertile countryside of northern Zimbabwe one day in late 2018, they noticed something out of the ordinary: A woman who had just started plowing a field with a few oxen under the scorching sun was entirely on her own.