adminA chance denied is a life ruined:
The story of a teen mom as told to Swagga T recently in rural Masvingo
I was just another 15-year-old going to school as a matter of course with many dreams of what I would become in life. I had my heart set on being a lawyer, fighting social injustice which is the lot of the poor and the uneducated.
I was just about to complete my Form Three and I was planning to work extra hard in Form Four to pass with flying colours.
Being a girl in the rural areas was not going to stand in the way of my dreams because I have seen many others rise to become successful people from the very same background.
But one year later all those plans are now just distant dreams.
My life has changed totally and it is not for the better. At 16 I am an uneducated mother with nothing to look forward to except a miserable life.
I am just another victim like all those others that I wanted to represent when I became a lawyer.
I am an orphan and I was living with my older sister. Out of the blue one day my sister told me that a man from one apostolic church wanted to take me as his wife.
This was a man old enough to be my father and I was shocked. I tried to plead with her that I was too young for marriage to anyone, but especially to some ancient man. But she forced me to go to his homestead and at that time I was overwhelmed and did not have anyone to turn to. I had nowhere else to go so I just gave in and would go to the old man’s home.
Once there, he would make me sleep with him. Then I fell pregnant. My sister tried to hide the pregnancy from the rest of the community. She said no one was supposed to know about it. I was confused and scared because I really did not understand what was going on. Even now I find it hard to really say what was happening as my sister was secretive.
Of course it was only a matter of time before people noticed and started talking about it. Like I said, poverty and little education cause injustice. Although everyone was disgusted by what my sister and that old man did to me, no one took any action because they also do not know what to do.
I dropped out of school. When I could no longer hide my bulging belly and my sister said I should elope to the old man. Once again, I had no choice and went to his home.
All the time when I was pregnant I would cry and try to wish the pregnancy away. But somehow I never had the urge to abort. I just cried for the missed opportunities that completing my education would have opened up for me.
In due course I gave birth to this baby boy that I am nursing. I love my baby but I wish I could have stayed on in school. Marriage and babies should come later when you have money and an education because it is not easy.
Now instead of just being another girl, ndave kunzi Mai Mupositori (I am being called Mupositori’s wife) but I don’t want anything to do with this man. But now I am stuck in this place with him because of this child.
I will never know if I was meant to be the most brilliant lawyer of my generation.
I will never know how many other girls in my situation I would have helped in the future.
All I am now is just another victim and the pain will never go away because I know that I could have made it big in my own way, if only I had been given the chance.
Online Reporter