Building narratives: Fighting gender-based violence through writing

By The Southern Eye | Dec. 12, 2021

She believes that Writing is a way of life. Her motivation in writing is derived from telling stories from “our own eyes” as Africans since the Western version is always distorted and divorced from the reality on the ground.

By Fungayi Sox

Graca Machel once stated: “We need to stop speaking of violence against women as statistics. Each of these women has a name and an identity. Let us find a place to write every single one of their names so that they are not forgotten”.

Machel’s remarks strikes perfectly well with the recently held Women’s writers against Gender Based Violence campaign, which was spearheaded by Sympathy Mangwenya Sibanda and her Women’s Writers Support Group.

Sibanda is the founder and MD of Blue Scroll Consultancy and also runs Amandla Brands, a food manufacturing company, which specialises in making peanut butter amongst a whole lot of other related food products. She also leads a virtual Women’s Writers Support Group, which is aimed at encouraging women to write and document their stories.

She started this group after realising that many women were suffering from depression and cognisant of women who were suicidal, with some having killed their children or partners, hence by encouraging women to come together,she was encouraging them to constructively express and contain their emotions through writing. She says so far three women in her group have published books and really attested to how writing has helped them heal from their different trauma’s.

So far, her virtual Women’s Writers Support Group has invited several facilitators educating women on various topics namely how to write development stories, writing for TV and many other related aspects of writing.

Through Blue Scroll Consultancy, she recently partnered with COMALISO — a local liberal organisation, which helps in activism and writing — to fund a two-day event to speak out against gender-based violence in homes, workplaces and all spheres of life.The event was hosted at the Africa Unity Square.

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What I loved about their recent event was the unique way in they utilised poetry and other related artistic performances to speak up against the scourge of gender-based violence, not only from a female perspective, but also from men, who often suffer in silence and this is brought out in one of the poems recited at the women writers event against gender-based violence, which is titled Silent Voices in My Head.

Silent Voices in My Head

By Rutendo Lisa Muzadzi

Once upon a time

They said men and women are now equal,

But isn’t gender equality now gender inequality?

If I should rape no one will turn their head because I am a man,

I am compelled to hide my bruises and stay silent,

I am forced to accept violence but don’t you think denial of men’s rights is

Hostile to the advancement of humankind,

I am tired of being strong

For me to keep my job they forced me to be a guy,

Forced a woman to earn a few Euro’s,

I am tired of acting as if everything is okay,

I am no more a husband but a mere feather,

Yes, a feather to clean dust,

I hide my pain in my smile,

I can’t cry to ease pain because I am a man,

I am tired of being strong,

I am a victim too,

So today I will speak up and say no to Gender Based Violence.

Sibanda’s Women’s Writer’s Support initiative is one of the fastest growing virtual platforms and consist of women from different walks of life, including those in the Diaspora.

The writer Fungayi Sox is the managing consultant at TisuMazwi Consultancy — a communications consultancy firm specialising in writing, publishing, digital media, personal development and education. He writes in his personal capacity. For feedback contact him on +263 776 030 949.