Story by Kenias Chivuzhe
The scourge of gender-based violence is causing untold suffering, with touching stories of survivors reminding society to increase efforts to end the vice.
A 40-year-old woman from Nyanga, Gracious Moto (not her real name) was left traumatized after she was raped by her uncle at the tender age of eight.
Her ordeal was made worse by the fact that her relatives shielded the perpetrator from the wrath of the law as she endured the traumatic experience.
“I am a victim of sexual abuse. When I was 8 years old, I was raped by my uncle. My parents had separated and I was now staying with my uncles. I alerted my relatives, but no action was taken. As my mother was threatened not to take the issue up or risk being chased away from her family homestead. I grew up with that trauma until last year when I finally disclosed the issue seeking help,” she says.
At the age of 23, Moto got married but the marriage was short-lived after she lost her husband two years later.
Her husband’s relatives denied her inheritance and she ended up staying in the streets with her child before a Good Samaritan restored her dignity.
“I was married at 23 and I lost my husband when I was 25 years old. Everything we worked for, including plates and pots, was taken away from me, except my child. I end up roaming the streets with my child. The child was 3 years old but is now 16 without anything from his father’s inheritance. Someone convinced me to move out of the streets and I got a small job for me to fend for my child. I went to the streets because my parents had separated and thinking of going back to my uncles was a nightmare since I was asexually abused there.”
She is not alone in the struggle to find comfort as narrated by Marange Musasa Shelter administrator Agnes Masibiye, where some victims of gender-based violence are seeking refuge.
“Here in Marange, physical abuse is rampant. Some survivors have touching stories. At the moment, we have a client who had difficulties getting married and sought the help of a self-styled prophet who later raped her and impregnated her. She went to the culprit’s residence and was chased away while her family refused to stay with her because of the pregnancy,” she explained.
With the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey showing 42.5% of Zimbabwean women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, calls for more support to end gender-based violence are growing louder.
