Source:Daily Nation They are making a mark in a job long dominated by men. At the City Mortuary, four women have quietly but meticulously been washing, treating and helping in the disposal of unclaimed bodies. "It is unusual to find women handling dead bodies," a member of a bereaved family remarks, visibly surprised.
Indeed, working at the mortuary is one of the jobs that have for a long time not featured on the list of options for many people, especially women.
Mortuary attendants' work is feared by many, with those doing it referred to by derogatory names.
But in the recent past, the job has not only been attracting a good number of men, but an increasing number of women as well.
With the biting unemployment, the Nairobi City Mortuary has been receiving an increasing number of applications for the mortuary attendant position. And the female mortuary attendants are demolishing long-held stereotypes that certain jobs can only be done by men.
"Initially, my friends thought I was out of my mind when I started doing this job. But now they really encourage me," says Ms Esther Atieno, a mother of two and one of the four female mortuary attendants.
As I made the decision to come and work here, I kept reassuring myself that all shall be well." It was at the mortuary that Ms Atieno touched and cleaned a dead body for the first time.
"But what scared me initially and which would have made me abandon this job was the post-mortem process. I had never seen a dissected human body before."
After several post-mortems that day, some of her colleagues thought she would not turn up the following day. "I did".
Her biggest encouragement was her colleague, Ms Grace Kisira, the first of the four women to take up the job in early 2008.
"I looked at Grace and said if a fellow woman has held on this far, why not me," says Ms Atieno.
For Ms Kisira, the mortuary attendant's job was not her first experience in handling the dead. She had worked at Lang'ata cemetery where she helped in digging graves and burying the dead.
"I had the courage to do it especially after the cemetery experience and participating in mass disposal of unclaimed bodies," says Ms Kisira.