A lot of women are going through various forms of abuse in silence in communities around Gotha Estate. It is through knowledge-sharing activities such as TfD performances that people in Tembenu village learned about gender policies and gender-based violence. Before the performance, the capacity of stakeholders and drama clubs was strengthened to facilitate change in their various fields. According to Village Head Woman Tembenu, the intervention was eye-opening on how she can lead her community in the fight.
“As a chief, I tried so hard to be going around the villages sensitizing people in funerals, meetings, and other gatherings about violence and where to report when faced with violence,” Tembenu explained.
She further said most women in her area are not empowered which was promoting economic and physical violence in the homes since they only depend on the husband. The Village Savings and Loans (VSL) group for women received nine women in a short time after the Tiyambe Project came to her community. Apart from that, the intervention motivated her to grow a lot of maize for commercial purposes to boost the amount of money that her fellow women borrow to start and expand their businesses.
“I am not just a mere chief who sits down and wait on cases, I am unique. I work hard, I do not wait on my husband but compliment him by doing different activities. Then the money that I get there I lend my fellow women so that they can start their businesses too, as a way of motivating them,” she narrates.
At the VSL, she teaches women about the importance of reporting violence, the effects of violence if neglected, and how they can invest in their businesses. When they have made a lot of break-even, she takes all her empowered women to the lake.
“Our VSL sometimes goes to the lake to enjoy ourselves because life is not about problems,” she expressed.
Tembenu is highly appreciative of the Tiyambe Project being implemented by ArtGlo with support from Eastern Produce Malawi (EPM). The project has opened up the mind of a lot of men and women in the community through the use of Theatre for Development. Through TfD, the audience freely sought clarifications to strengthen their understanding as well as suggest community action plans on the same regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly facing GBV. She further urges women in decision-making positions to be at the forefront to fight against gender-based violence.
The all-women VSL started in 2017 with ten members and has since grown to 32 members. Tembenu disclosed that the women who have recently joined them were victims of economic abuse in their families.
