THE loud music coming from backyard shebeens and street corners in Harare used to just mean a party, but today, it hides a much darker story.
A serious drug crisis is quietly destroying the lives of many Zimbabwean women, tearing apart the homes where women have always been the pillars of the family.
People used to think drug abuse was only a problem for young men on the streets, but now, it is dragging mothers, sisters and daughters into a deep hole of addiction.
This painful truth became a big talking point recently because of Malloti, a controversial Zimdancehall artiste who openly shocked the public by admitting she is an addict and totally dependent on drugs and alcohol.
Her confession caused a lot of drama, especially since she is married to Hulengende, another popular musician who is currently enjoying a lot of fame and glory in the music industry. Malloti’s raw words showed everyone that behind closed doors, many Zimbabwean women are secretly crying out for help.
At the very centre of this trouble is the heavy abuse of BronCleer cough syrup, which everyone on the streets calls bronco, alongside regular weed.
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These small bottles of cough syrup are packed with codeine and alcohol and women use them to numb the stress of financial hardships and life struggles.
Unlike other illegal drugs that are hard to hide, a bottle of bronco can easily fit into a handbag or a kitchen cupboard, allowing women to suffer from addiction in secret.
This habit is destroying friendship circles and communities. When a woman falls into this trap, the peace in her home dies, replaced by endless arguments, theft and fear.
Neighbours begin to gossip and lock their doors, friends pull away in frustration and the true spirit of helping one another is lost because the woman everyone used to rely on has changed into someone they can no longer trust.
This crisis does not just stop with the addict; it passes the pain down to the next generation, forcing elderly grandmothers to become parents all over again. During an interview in Chitungwiza, a heartbroken mother shared her pain while holding a small toddler in her arms.
She explained that her own daughter, a young woman who should be working and building a life, is a severe drug addict who cannot do anything except get high, look for the next fix and cause endless trouble in the neighbourhood.
The grandmother cried as she talked about the pain of watching her child turn into a hostile stranger who steals household items just to sell them for drugs.
Because the mother is always high, the grandmother has to use her last pennies and energy to raise her grandchild, showing how addiction is completely breaking the chain of motherhood.
For the few women who try to get clean, the journey is very lonely and full of judgement.
Inside a local rehabilitation centre, a young woman in recovery admitted that her life took an unplanned hiatus, a complete standstill, because of her drug habits.
She spoke about how hard it was to deal with her family and friends, who simply did not understand that addiction is a sickness, choosing instead to see it as a moral failure or a spiritual curse.
In Zimbabwe, many people still do not understand mental health and addiction, so her cry for help was met with anger instead of support. Now, she is recovering in total isolation, fighting the painful withdrawal symptoms without a single visit or phone call from the people she loves.
Her story shows a cruel double standard: when men get addicted, families often try to help them, but when a woman gets addicted, she is quickly thrown out and abandoned.
To make matters worse, the drug market in Zimbabwe is changing rapidly.
While bronco and weed are the main everyday problems, dangerous foreign drugs have flooded the townships. People on the streets now talk about tumbwa and dombo — slang names given to very strong, highly intoxicating substances brought in from outside the country.
Many non-governmental organisations and community groups work hard everyday, holding meetings and raising awareness on the dangers these substances pose.
But despite all these campaigns, drug abuse keeps rising at an alarming rate. There is strong gossip on the streets that these dangerous drugs are being brought into the country by rich and influential people.
Although these are just grapevine sources and unverified rumours, many poor people believe that powerful figures are making a lot of money from the misery of the lower-class populace, feeding a bad system that trades the lives of young women for profit.
This drug crisis is also heavily slowing down the long fight for women’s rights and equality in Zimbabwe.
For many years, activists have worked hard to get women into schools, good jobs and leadership positions, but addiction is pulling them backwards into poverty and danger.
A woman who is constantly high on bronco or dombo cannot fight for her financial independence, cannot protect herself from abuse, and cannot take part in programmes meant to uplift her.
We can't keep looking away or treating this as a taboo topic to discuss in whispers. Every woman lost to drugs is a family broken and a piece of Zimbabwe’s future destroyed.
We must change our anger into love and help these women to heal, because if we leave our daughters and mothers to drown in addiction, we are destroying the very heart of our nation.
Let us stand up and help them today before it is too late