Online Reporter
Ashley Taingwa
AT the campus, hope and fear interweave.
In passageways that were once synonymous with bright aspirations, shadows now dim the radiance.
She treads these grounds steadily, a female student chasing her own dreams.
But beneath the calm, dangers lurk.
Behind the books, behind the eyes, she hides her sorrow.
Whispers start, frosty looks abound; these break her will.
A lecture theatre, where minds are shaped and futures forged, becomes a common stage for stories twisted by silent rage.
She hopes for safety day and night, yet hidden threats draw nearer, in darkened paths, on empty stairs, where predators show no solicitude.
Despite all the odds, she still rises, brave; in the silence, hope remains.
She refuses to be a slave to fear that steals her right to education, to hope that blooms but does not last.
Support groups grow strong each year, voices break through the fear, campaigns echo across the land, demanding justice.
For every sister, cousin and friend, this fight is far from over.
The campus must become a place where every woman holds her space.
No longer silenced, but stands tall, breaking the chains.
Fuelled by truth and grace, she claims again her rightful place.
Let safety and respect abound in study areas, so that every student may achieve their goals, in a world that dares to truly believe.
Ashley Taingwa is a Part 5.2 law student at the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University.
