Story by Aifheli Mudau
FORGOTTEN author, Engelmar Amon Sibanda is back in the fold after penning a new Ndebele novel book on Gender Based Violence (GBV) titled “Kanti Okuyikho Yikuphi”.
The book tackles domestic violence, which has become a thorn in the flesh for many families, especially women.
After writing a Ndebele set book titled: “USithembene Uphiwa Indoda,” which was used as a set book in the Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC) in the 1990s, Sibanda has penned his third novel which he expects to be a set book at Secondary school level.
“Every man is hustling the whole day, and when he comes back home in the evening, he does not give enough attention to his lovely wife and the wife starts to complain and demand attention. This is the start of violence, so this book is full of drama stories that address how best families or couples can live in harmony,” Sibanda said.
Sibanda published his first novel in 1986, with a focus on women’s empowerment.
“During our time when we were doing standards, I realised that girls could go as far as standard two or three, and from there they were forced into marriages with old men so that parents could get cattle as lobola. This practice pained me until I decided to write the book uSithembene Uphiwa Indoda in 1986, which later became a set book,” he said.
With Gender Based Violence, child sexual exploitation and drug and substance abuse among the leading vices affecting various communities, authors are also playing a role in raising awareness to empower women and children.
