Published On 4/22/2026
Rhoda Onguchi Akech still remembers the whispers that accompanied her steps towards the lakeshore one morning in 2002. She was 39, a mother of seven children, and about to break one of the most ancient social taboos in the villages of Lake Victoria: for a woman to set foot in a fishing boat.
Akic, who is over sixty years old today, says: The people of her village were whispering that a woman going into the lake with men meant an inevitable descent into sexual relations. However, she insisted, and when people realized that she had come to learn and not for anything else, they “silent,” as she put it.
In the village of Kagwell in Simi sub-county in Kisumu region, western Kenya, the fishing profession has been the preserve of men for decades, while the role of women is limited to buying fish and selling them in the markets. But this strict division began to crack under the weight of economic pressures, before today the threat of climate change is added to it, which is devouring the lake’s fish wealth.
Taboo is rooted in heritage
William Okido, a 57-year-old elder of the village of Kagwell, explains that traditions were stricter when it came to the menstrual cycle, as it was believed that a woman going into the lake in that case “spooks the fish and causes losses to the fishermen.” The restrictions were not limited to women, as even men were prohibited from having sex with their wives on the night of hunting, believing that this would impoverish their harvest.
Before 2002, Akech was a fish seller like other women in the village, buying men’s catch to sell in the markets. However, their income shrank under the weight of the costs of fish, fuelwood, frying oil, and transportation fees. In 2001, women from neighboring Homa Bay province arrived in Kagwell to do what had been considered impossible: fishing in the lake. That was an inspiring moment for Akic, who sought the help of two young men from the village to teach her the profession, endured the warnings of the people, and moved on because her family was counting on her.
Akech spent 16 years alone among male fishermen, before she was joined in 2018 by Faith Owor Angawu, a 37-year-old mother of four who worked for years as a fish seller in a Luanda market. She says that her husband first rejected the idea for fear of the reaction of the fishing community, but later allowed her to join Rhoda.
In 2020, Dorcas Oyo, a 22-year-old mother of three, joined after her fisherman husband retracted his initial refusal in the face of the need for additional income. By 2022, the image of a woman hunter had become so familiar that Janet Ndoye (42 years old) faced no objection when she joined, because the community was “accustomed to seeing Rhoda and Faith hunting.”
Wilson Ongulu, fisheries officer in Simi sub-county, revealed the real motivation behind the shift: On good days, boat owners at Kagwell Beach earn between 6 and 8 thousand Kenyan shillings ($46-62), crew members earn 500 to 800 shillings ($3.88-6.20), and traders earn 1,000 shillings ($7.75). This exceeds the 500 shillings that women used to earn daily from reselling fish.
Okido acknowledged that the social barrier had in fact fallen, saying that “economic hardships push women to break the taboo.” Fisherman Delmas Onyango (35 years old) confirms that the majority of his colleagues now support the women’s decision.
A climate threat lurks in the lake
Akic says she has noticed a gradual decline in fishing for 23 years. Chris Mutai, chief meteorologist at Kisumu station, attributes this to climate change, which has warmed waters, encouraged algae growth and reduced oxygen. An additional rise of half a degree Celsius is expected within 10 to 20 years, with temperatures ranging between 29.5 and 31 degrees. It calls for staying away from bank lands to protect fish breeding environments and stop pollution.
Lake Victoria is home to more than 42 million people who depend on it for food, work, and drinking water, but it suffers from overfishing, pollution, and climate change, which has led to a decline in the per capita share, despite an annual production of about one million tons of fish.
A dream faces a transformed reality
Despite this breakthrough, women find themselves in formal limbo. In a statement to Al Jazeera, Susan Clare, acting director of fisheries and blue economy in Kisumu, denied the existence of women who practice fishing officially, saying that there are “women who own boats and women who are merchants, but they are not involved in night fishing or among the boat crews,” which deprives them of any official support. However, Christopher Ora, director of freshwater research at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, announced in 2023 that the lake includes more than 47,000 fishermen, including 1,000 women, which indicates deficiencies in the county’s data.
For Ndoye, the proceeds from fishing now cover her children’s university fees, which was previously difficult. But the life Akic has made her way to becomes more fragile. However, the four women continue their sailing every dawn. On scarce days, income falls below the income from selling fish, and on good days it is still enough to justify the hardship.
Akic concludes with a proverb that the people of the lake circulate: “A man without land is a man without life,” and leaves its parallel truth unspoken: A fisherman without fish faces the same fate.
