A majority of women are trapped in various forms of gender-based violence due to a lack of knowledge on where to seek help. Some known reporting structures have either proven to be ineffective due to corruption or more oppressive. This is the road that 24-year-old Beatrice (not her real name), a mother of two, had to go through. She started experiencing various forms of economic abuse perpetrated by her husband after she came back to Malawi from South Africa where they both went seeking greener pastures. She had nowhere to go but suffer in silence.
“I arrived back home first whilst expectant and my husband followed. By the time my husband was coming, he found out that I had just sold our refrigerator at MK500,000. The money was meant to assist in meeting some of the needs of my family but it was all wasted on other women when my husband took it.” Lamented Beatrice.
Beatrice became bitter with the tendency and told her husband to leave since the marriage was matrilineal. This only made things worse as he started selling household possessions to the point that she was left with the clothes that she wore that fateful day. The man also removed some of the iron sheets from their house for sale, to prevent her from evicting him.
“My husband started smuggling some of my items to give women that he was going out with. These women reached the extent of finding me at my house to demand my possessions. This is when I decided to leave the house and seek refuge at my grandmother’s house.” Lamented Beatrice.
Coincidentally, our Tiyambe drama group in Gotha Estate performed a play that unpacked issues about GBV including reporting structures with the help of an official from the Police VSU and Thyolo District Gender office. This is where Anne Mwale (59), Beatrice’s grandmother learned about various reporting structures at her disposal. Mwale, as a victim of abuse, vowed to end this cycle of violence. She decided to sit down with Beatrice to discuss other avenues where her story can be heard.
“I decided to share the message that I got from the performance with my granddaughter after noticing her helpless state. Together with her, we threatened to approach an NGO that deals with GBV if the husband continued with the abuse.” Explained Mwale.
Considering that the matter might culminate in drastic effects for the husband, he apologized to his wife and promised that he will change and Beatrice kept her fingers crossed. As time went by, they both secured a job at Gotha Estate.
“My husband decided to secure a loan to go back to South Africa. Now he can remember us with a little from what he gets from his job there.” Explained Beatrice.
Now the family is living in harmony and the children are receiving the necessary support from their father. This is all thanks to the intervention that ArtGlo implemented at GVH Mpando, Gotha Estate, Thyolo with support from EPM.
