Book 38: Streets Paved with Gold

The first is a light, humorous story of two women competing for status. Lindiwe has learned to drive and her employer occasionally lets her borrow her car for her own use. This gives her the opportunity to show off in front of her friends in the village. However, this is a short-sighted tactic as one day she is forced to go down on her knees to beg her rival for help.
The second story is about changing traditions in rural Africa. Three women in a small village in the countryside experience substantially different lives. Granny Ramatla’s life was totally bound by tradition. Hers was an arranged marriage. Women of her generation had little say in the matter when their aunts chose husbands for them. The second woman, Lintle, modifies tradition slightly by telling her aunts whom she wants to marry. The aunts realize that her happiness is more important than tradition and agree to her request. The youngest woman rebels against tradition completely. Not only did she refuse to undergo the practice of initiation, but when it comes to choosing a husband, she defies her parents and runs away with her lover.