The Day I Took a stand against Gender Based Violence in my village

It was almost like a song but now sung in different tunes and voices.

The wailing of women was becoming the norm and no evening passed before you could hear a woman in distress.

As it happened,no one dared to respond lest you fell a victim too.

Children almost knew which house the wailing would come from the next day as if there was a time table for that matter.

That was what defined my village.

The beating and harassment I hear was to keep check on the woman's behavior.

The behavior here was adamantly asking for food for the children, fertilizers for the crops and sometimes purchase of a new and decent dress for the wife. What forced the women to be adamant was because the husband was not responsible enough to carry out his duties as a man, a father and a husband.

The saddest thing however was that young girls grew up knowing that being battered in your own house is was a normal phenomenon and were Prepared for this.

I was scared too and one time while washing our clothes in the river, I told my friend that when I become of age I would not get married because I felt like I would be signing my death certificate. The state of the women who were being abused physically by their husbands was horrible.

Women feared that if they ran away from their homes they would be disinherited from the only land they ever owned with their husbands yet they had no other sources of income.

I was tired of this and wondered how my life would become when I was of age and ready for marriage.I grew up hating men and the urge was too strong that I set out to fight against the vice.

It wasn't easy though.Women thought I had gone crazy when I told them that the only way to win battles and avoid constant humiliation was to be financially independent.

My strategy was to get majority of women both affected and the widows to start an income generating project without breaking their marriages.Everyone was tasked with the responsibility of selling the wares in the market and revenue accounted for. The profits would be shared equally and part of it saved.

The members saved enough and managed to buy for themselves a dairy goat each.As time went by,the wailing reduced and soon women were able to take care of their needs.

Children soon joined the program and with their help we were able to expand our lands, young men found an opportunity to help us take vegetables to the market.

Right now we're planning to venture into other markets since our production increased.

It was not necessary for me to hold a protest against the vice because it wasn't going to work but destroy people's homes and families.

I decided to stop it through women economic empowerment in other words smart farming practice.