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Raped, impregnanted by pastor

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While many women in her position would have chosen silence as the solution — considering that it is often classified as golden — Kudakwashe Mutongwizo chose to speak out.

Powerlessness and silence move hand-in-hand. While many women in her position would have chosen silence as the solution — considering that it is often classified as golden — Kudakwashe Mutongwizo chose to speak out.

SOFIA MAPURANGA

Raped by her pastor on March 10 2012, the expecting mother said she was hopeful she would deliver a normal child despite the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy.

Born 25 years ago in a family of six in Chitandara Village, under Chief Chihota, the young woman has been disabled since birth, but prefers to be described as “not so able-bodied”. Mutongwizo had a difficult childhood. She recalls: “I was never at ease with other children my age. They would either shun or mock me because I could not run around like they did.”

During high school years at Jairos Jiri Centre for the Disabled, she was shocked by the extent to which disabled young women faced sexual and reproductive health challenges. She invested her trust in a man of the cloth in ZAOGA Church’s Chitandara Circuit.

“At first I thought as a deacon, he was a man of God with sincere intentions,” she said. “He would push my wheelchair whenever I met him and I began feeling at ease in his presence.” Mutongwizo said.

The day she was raped, the deacon visited her homestead and asked that she accompany him to the shops, about 2km away.

“The deacon was the closest to a friend to me because we went to church together and he had become like part of our family, as he was also a neighbour,” she said.

“We joked and laughed as usual all the way to the shops.”

She said the deacon suddenly changed his behaviour and diverted the route to a secluded area where he lifted her off her wheelchair, tore her undergarments and forced himself on her.

When they returned home, the pastor confessed his sin to Mutongwizo’s sister and they agreed to keep the matter under wraps. Four months later, her 72-year-old father noticed she was pregnant and when she spilled the beans, he confronted the pastor, who acknowledged responsibility.

He assured the family he would take care of his daughter and pay “damages” for the violation.

The father (name withheld) said: “Since the matter had been discussed at the traditional court, the family assumed that the deacon would honour his side of the deal and take care of my daughter.”

The pastor fled the area and is currently on the run. He is on the police “Wanted” list and is believed to be hiding in South Africa. His mother and relatives, however, claimed she was responsible for her misery because their son would never abuse a disabled woman. A Harare-based counsellor Dadirai Tsungano said rape victims preferred silence because they feared being judged by society.

“People who have been discriminated against because of their physical appearance are stigmatised even when they open up and tell their story. For someone conceiving after a rape incident, it becomes even more difficult because that child will be a reminder of the rape,” she said.

She added that there was need for special counselling for raped people because some of them could end up being suicidal.

Social scientist Priscillar Garaba acknowledged the trauma of raising a child conceived out of rape. She said family and community support for mothers in this situation should be a priority. “Imagine the trauma of raising a child born out of rape? The mother of that child needs special psycho-social support to assist her come to terms with her circumstances,” said Garaba.

Youths Working on Reproductive Health Action Team Gender Programmes Officer for Students, Vimbai Mlambo, said the challenge was that disabled young women were grouped in the same category as those that are able bodied.

Mashonaland East Police spokesperson, Inspector Bulisani Bhebhe, urged rape victims to report to the police so that perpetrators of sexual abuse could be brought to book.

“People should report sexual abuse urgently so that the police are able to carry out investigations urgently.

“Suspects sometimes take advantage of this and run away further delaying the justice delivery system and making it difficult for us to enforce the law,” he said.

Zimbabwe National Statistical Office (ZimStat) reports that at least 15 women are raped daily.

According to ZimStat’s Quarterly Digest of Statistics, a total of 2 195 cases of rape were reported in the first five months of the year 2012.