Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat South Bureau Chief
A Liberian superstition says expectant mothers should not be touched by strangers. It is believed evil spirits can steal a baby from the womb so she should only let close family members near her, guarding her bump fiercely from strangers.
In the Chinese culture, sharp objects such as scissors or needles are forbidden on or near the bed of a pregnant woman as this signals the cutting of the umbilical cord or could lead to birth defects.
Jewish cultures warn pregnant women to stay away from funerals for fear of the dearly departed souls lingering too close to an unborn child. A miscarriage can occur if one attends a funeral as the unborn child will want to return to the spirit world with the deceased.
Some of these beliefs are shared across different countries and cultures across the globe, including Zimbabwe.
While most superstitions are believed to protect the expectant mother from harm, some skewed beliefs have however, left some pregnant women vulnerable to sexual abuse.
In some sections of society, it is believed that sexual intercourse with a pregnant woman brings about good luck, cleanses as well as “treats” some diseases.
Traditionalists however, say there is no such thing. When rape is involved, that is equivalent to witchcraft.
Maphisa District Hospital in Matobo, Matabeleland South Province has reportedly experienced a series of break-ins at its waiting home where pregnant women were sexually abused.
Women who are at least eight months pregnant in rural areas move into waiting homes at hospitals as they await delivery. This is meant to ensure timely medical care as transportation might be an issue on the day of delivery from some remote areas.
In July, three expecting mothers at the hospital were sexually abused while two others were raped last week, a situation that has shocked the community with some suspecting that the heinous acts could have been for ritual purposes.
The recent rape case happened at a time when the country was commemorating 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
It is alleged that in the latest incident, three machete-wielding men were spotted entering the maternity ward where they threatened and raped the victims.
Traditional healer Mr David Nduna Mlilo said men who rape women for ritual purposes are criminals who should be locked away.
“These are bad elements who also believe sleeping with a child brings good luck or cures certain diseases. Good luck runs in your blood, you either have it or you don’t. If you want an additional lucky charm, you can use roots or barks of trees in water and bath with the mixture. It shouldn’t have anything to do with any other person. It’s false that one can obtain good fortune by sleeping with a certain kind of person,” said Mr Mlilo.
He said such people were dangerous and could go to the extent of killing their own children to obtain good fortune.
“It’s taboo; you can’t be committing such crimes and expect life to continue as usual,” said Mr Mlilo.
Another traditional healer, Baba Ndebele said men who rape women under the guise of obtaining good fortune are usually driven by bad spirits.
“These are skewed beliefs and I’ve never seen anything of that nature working for anyone. It is equivalent to witchcraft if a man violates a woman or rapes her because he wants to be rich. It’s the same as someone saying sleeping with a minor brings about good luck or cures certain diseases. It is abusing another person if one engages in sexual acts without consent,” said Baba Ndebele.
He said in other circles, it is believed that blood drawn from a person living with albinism brings about good fortune.
“That is also a skewed belief. With some people, they do these things under the instruction of bogus traditional healers. The police need to investigate further and arrest these criminals who are abusing women and killing people for ritual purposes,” said Baba Ndebele.
Matabeleland South Provincial medical director Dr Ruth Chikodzore said security at the hospital would be tightened.
“We had a meeting as the ministry, hospital officials and community members, and we came up with several measures that will ensure the safety of patients. We decided to increase the number of security personnel at the hospital,” said Dr Chikodzore.
“There will be police officers patrolling the hospital during the night. Each ward will now have a guard to protect patients. The windows will also be secured as well as the doors,” she said.
Dr Chikodzore said the community had also formed a neighbourhood watch committee to guard the institution.
“Some community members have volunteered to beef up security at the hospital. We have a group of villagers who will be working with the police during the night to make sure that a similar incident does not happen again,” she said.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena said they were investigating the matter. – @Yolisswa.
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