Leave No One Behind
When
love that proceeded from the depths of their loins and belly was no longer
there, the love of power arose in Kaole and he no longer hung on his wife’s gentle
words or surrender himself to her caresses. His concern was now being with his mac
and the comfy brown-leather seat that propagated his newly found life of working
night and day to pay the bills; which later turned his back against the woman who
held his spine.
Unknown
rage that he couldn’t suppress began to hype as the two drifted farther apart. At
first there was guilt and an attempt to stop but soon he gave way, realizing
how much he enjoyed shouting and walloping his knuckles into her skin. With
every hit he felt a cold zing of delight, a buzz he couldn’t get any other way.
A
perfect marriage from outside it seemed yet Lisa hid purple ribs and "florets"
that budded on her thighs; she hid them like a precious marble yet she oozed
out pain with each strained breathe. Their home was a cage for her body and her
body reciprocated the “favour”.
Over
the years, Lisa laid on her matrimonial cradle listening to the songs and
sounds of fury, anger and fight; and vehemently enjoyed every bit of it hoping
that one day a tiny breach would pave way for her freedom.
‘C’mon’,
open the door!’ Kaole’s brother pushed himself through into the hospital door handing
over a withered piece of skin to the doctors.
“That’s
what’s left of my brother’s manhood”, he irritably told the doctors as he gave-out
a numb piece of scrotum to them; One that he hurriedly picked up in a pool of
blood where his brother’s body laid.
His
skin was peeled off from the vital organs, blood oozing from his belly. Although he seemed peaceful, you could see
that tissues were torn and his blood slowly turned into a thick-turbid brown with
its power to ooze dying out. Their urgings culminated into a horrific ordeal
whose pangs will stick around forever_ his blood was squarely on her hands; she
killed him.
Neighbours
called in the police who arrested Kaole’s wife because, if it happens to women,
it can happen to men too; my worry being, will justice prevail?
 |
| https://en.wordpress.com/tag/gender-based-violence/ |
The
corpse was rushed to the morgue as mourners flocked into their home you’d think
they were heaped together, waiting for that one call.
Such
is domestic violence; it’s lethal!
This
is a familiar story for many who’ve endured the gruelling pain and trauma of
Gender Based Violence (GBV) whether domestic violence, sexual violence such as
rape, sexual assault or harassment, harmful practices such as FGM, child and
force marriages, psychological violence or even economic violence among many
more; and the fact that many of these have been normalized and perpetuated
through structural inequalities makes it more arduous.
With
the International campaign to challenge violence against women and girls already
underway, posters and billboards are taking rounds in various media
podiums with high profile cases wallowing on newspapers’ headlines on
strategies towards overcoming GBV. #16
days of fight against Gender Based Violence.
While
gender-based violence cases are way too high for women compared to men, a
considerable number of such cases for men occur with many ending up unreported and
they too need help.
In
fact, GBV has been coined to refer to women problems which clarifies why most platforms
that exist to address GBV issues are naturally inclined to resolving such
matters from a woman’s viewpoint. For decades, women have been found on the
frontline in fight against the demon yet we still find ourselves in the same
predicament many eras later.
This
is not to demean the fight on violence against women and girls at all which is extremely
huge and should be out-rightly condemned and perpetrators persecuted but even
further, to bring on board both genders towards creating collective and lasting
solutions and therefore, both men and women have a role to
play.
But
even better, prevention is better than cure!
 |
| preventconnect.org |
The
question is; are you aware, willing and determined to rightfully play your role?
Surrounded
by four black walls, there was nothing else to do for Lisa but to stare at
them. To blindly look at the ballast that was chipping off with time. Anything to
pass time was meaningful for her, slowly going mad, theorizing absurd meanings
from the wall's blank stare.
“I am finally free from the
blows even though I'm caged” she sighed. She will be there for a long time!
#beyond 16 days of fight against Gender Based
Violence
Mwende
