L Shasore

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In 1973, registered major contractors in Nigeria’s East Central State wrote to the government to complain about what they called the “indiscriminate and unimpressive incursion of women and school girls into our noble profession.” After the civil war, many widows had turned to contracting to support their children, a shift that unsettled an industry long dominated by men. One of the most successful female contractors before the war was Madam Rosa C. Asuquo-Brown, based in Enugu. questioned After her contractor husband died in 1957, she questioned why she should be excluded from contract awards if she was qualified to handle them. She argued that many women were more qualified than the men who received government contracts by default, and urged greater tolerance, noting that women were largely confined to minor contracts such as the supply of sand, laterite, and gravel. Through her contracting work, she raised four children, two of whom were living in the United States by 1973. “I believe in co-existence,” she said. “Women should be free to struggle side by side with men for their livelihood.” Source: Woman’s World