sharing the personal as i sojourn

Woke up today to massive retweets of Tino Katsande’s (ZIFM Radio presenter and Studio 263 actress) battered and bruised face. I was amazed she had the courage to speak out and share her ordeal with the world. From the picture below, l think she was in a police station….most women suffer in silence.

Here are some statistics about domestic abuse. the sad part is…..the majority of these statistics are incorrect because most women never breathe a word, they live in fear until its too late.

• One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds
• An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
• A battering incident is rarely an isolated event.
• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

Vagina Dialogues – How Will Africa Answer?
On Wednesday I heard the voice, and saw the face of courage. It was embodied in a young woman called Aminatta*. At the age of four, Aminatta’s maternal uncle raped her. At six, he asked her to open his zip, remove his trousers, then again raped her. He convinced her later that it was not rape, she had opened the zip and removed his trousers even though it was at his bidding. When Aminatta turned 12, her uncle would send invitations for her through her mother to come and visit during the holidays. Her constant refusals were met with yells from her mother for this man who was trying to be her father figure, ‘this brother of mine who has done so much for you and loves you like his own.’ At his house, while his wife was at work and his children…