This article is a special dedication on International Women’s Day 2025.

I listened to Ekaterina (picture) as I listen to Sting’s ‘Englishman in New York.’ Ekaterina comes from far – Astrakhan, a city situated in the delta of the Volga River, 60 miles from the Caspian Sea in the southwest of Russia. Over 40 years ago, she left her native rural village to settle in Mauritius, following her Mauritian husband, a successful student on a state scholarship.

Ekaterina has raised her three sons following the demise of her husband but chose to stay here although she says ‘mo kontan mo pei’ with a tinge of nostalgia in her voice. She knows about her country’s history, the Tatar khanate and about the Volga River, a great river and the principal waterway through Western Russia. Ekaterina has known in her childhood and youth the rural life style in the family’s farm: They grew a large variety of crops, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetables which the Government owned Cooperatives would market according to the demand. They had eggs, milk, farm animals for sale and own consumption. The family had a few commodities to purchase like sugar and oil which they did not produce on the farm. On the backdrop hung the Russian snow and wintry cold.

After her Grade 10 equivalent to the Mauritian HSC, Ekaterina joined the Astrakhan Textile University which she left after 2 years for Mauritius. From being a housewife, she had to provide for her children on her own. She managed restaurants and developed her culinary aptitudes to make ends meet. The schooling of her three boys demanded transport, private tuition and a host of associated expenses. But she persevered until they grew up to become professionals in their field, working as technicians. Ekaterina has demonstrated remarkable adaptability, transitioning from one type of employment to another. Her university training has proven valuable. She appreciates the sense of solidarity in her neighborhood, as her current clothing sewing business is steadily gaining recognition. Additionally, her experience as a helper-cook is an asset, as it enables her to offer quality catering services within the constraints of her resources and time. She now wants to allow herself time to rest, after having to struggle through many challenges.

Listening to Ekaterina was like listening to any Kreol-speaking citizen. Not a single mispronunciation, a rich vocabulary, precise even in the expression of her sentiments. ‘Wi enn zour mo pou ale, mo pou al rod mo frer ek mo ser’.This is no fiction, this is reality. ‘Mo koz kreol parski personn pa koz rus ek mwa, me mo bizin kominike.’

This quality has facilitated her way in the world, in the Mauritian world. This college champion in 200m and 400m races is never tired of walking from Tyack to Rivière des Anguilles and back. She visits neighbors in need and offers advice whenerver she can, drawing on her knowledge from reading novels, science fiction, and scientific discoveries, which she carefully learns about through TV documentaries. Ekaterina has a deep fondness for animal life in her quest for knowledge.

Ekaterina’s message for women on International Women’s Day is simple: know your rights, allow nobody to walk all over you, we deserve respect, and we have the capacity for resilience. The path is there where the will lies.