“My husband never allowed me to own a business. Whenever I spoke with him about owning a business, he would say that he is the breadwinner and I should not worry about it,” Explains Mary.
Mary is a 31-year-old married woman with three children. She has been married for more than 8 years and in those 8 years, her husband never accepted the idea of her owning a business. Growing up in a community that stresses so much on the man as the breadwinner, the head of the house and the woman as someone to take care of the home, Mary had a tough time convincing her husband that her running a business would improve their livelihood as a family.
In 2020, our Make Art for Women’s Activism (MAWA) project started in Chiradzulu. Chisombezi CBO, one of the Civil Society Organizations recruited under the project held an event within Mary’s community in which they used pictures to educate the audience about Violence Against Women and Girls. One of the things that Chisombezi focused on was economic abuse in which they highlighted that prohibiting a woman from owning a business or to be involved in economic empowerment activities is a violation of her rights. Mary said that both her and her husband attended that particular event and when they got home, they had a discussion about what was being taught at the event. After their chat, they both agreed to approach Chisombezi CBO to learn in-depth about gender-based violence.
“After we had the sit down with Chisombezi, my husband changed, he gave me some money to set up a business and I also joined “bank m’khonde” where together with other women we save up money to help us when things are not going well financially,” She narrates.
In the fight against violence against women, it is important to incorporate men, which is what Chisombezi CBO has been doing in their programs. They usually organize information sessions in which they invite both men and women, and using participatory art forms such as pictures and songs raise awareness about violence against women and girls. In most communities in which we work, cultures, traditions and beliefs that re-enforce gender inequality drive the way of life. We have found that civic educating these communities on important issues of gender equality and gender-based violence have had a good level of influence on attitude change towards gender and gender roles which perpetrate violence.
As for Mary, she is a proud business owner and she says that the living standard of her family has completely changed, and she is so grateful that the project helped her and her husband become more aware about gender based violence.
“I really love being financially independent. I am able to buy basic needs for my family and support my husband with other expenditures. I am the one who buys school materials for our children while he covers the school fees. My life is so much better now and I am thankful to Chisombezi CBO for helping us through this process,” Said a smiling Mary.
A pseudo name has been used for the woman
#16daysofactivism #herstoryworthhearing #MAWA #Chisombezicbo
