My four hours at Kenya Air were actually quite interesting. I met and talked a lot with Miriam, a receptionist in the office. Wherever I went in my travels, I had asked, about AIDS, hoping to learn more about the international aspects of the epidemic. I posed my questions to Miriam as well. She talked about the cultural expectations of African men and women.
Women have two roles-to have children and to provide for the men.
Men are culturally free to pretty much do as they wish, even in view of strong Muslim tenets and Christian beliefs. Miriam told of the man who had fathered her only child. The wives were really mistresses and everyone knew about everyone else. I tried to understand how women tolerated this lifestyle. Since they were generally having children, maintaining households which included the oppressive and daily burdens of acquiring water, working the fields, thrashing the grain, cooking the meals, doing the laundry, etc., it was most unusual to find a woman like Miriam who has escaped this destiny.