Artisanal mining: an economic stepping stone for women

Artisanal mining is about reaping the riches of the earth to make a living. Artisanal mining is the informal, and more primitive type of small‐scale mining. It is usually characterized by individuals or groups who very inefficiently exploit superficial mineral deposits, often illegally and with simple equipment. Artisanal mining is also about women who take employment which involves dangerous working conditions and seldom leads to economic security. Artisanal mining is, furthermore, about women venturing into new and challenging territories and subsequently changing their role. This article on women and artisanal mining is a vignette that underscores all the obstacles to women's fulfilment. These critical and cross‐sectoral obstacles are, to cite a few, economic exclusion, discrimination in terms of access to land and natural resources, the increasing feminization of poverty and the lack of recognition of women's valuable work. Two‐pronged action is recommended: to give women themselves hope and recognition for their isolated efforts, and that their endeavours are acknowledged breakthroughs; and to reshape the environment, which is oppressing these women, to create a new one.