The past never truly loosens its grip. This is a story of women whose memories of abuse in the name of sexual practices remains raw, shaping their present in painful ways. MERCY MATONGA writes:
Though years have passed, the wounds refuse to heal. Each day is a quiet battle against shame, trauma and the haunting echoes of what was done to them.
Alice Banda (not her real name), 28, grew up with her parents in Mulanje District as the eldest of four siblings.
Her life changed while she was still in primary school.
Her parents died when she was in Standard 6, two years before she could sit Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations.
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Being the oldest one, Alice became a parent to her three siblings at a young age. She took on piecework after school while preparing for PSLCE examinations.
After standard 8, Alice was selected to Phalombe Secondary School, something she never imagined possible—as she had no one to support her.
At 13, a friend convinced her to work as a maid at Chinakanaka Trading Centre in Mulanje.
However, when she arrived there, she found herself in a bar. The job her friend promised never existed.
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Later, her friend told her that she had no choice but to sleep with men in order to feed the other siblings, who were staying with relatives.
It was not an easy decision, but Alice gave in and eventually met a man she later married.
Though he provided for her, the man abused her sexually, mentally and physically. She stayed, as she had nowhere else to go.
Together they had three children, the eldest now in secondary school at half her age.
After some years, the man left her for another woman, pushing her back into sex work.
This time, it was harder, as she had children to look after.
In 2019, a programme run by People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) reached her area, targeting vulnerable women.
Alice became one of the beneficiaries.
Through the organisation, she trained in tailoring.
Today, she is skilled but mostly survives on household piecework in her community.
Even now, Alice’s childhood memories haunt her. She imagines what life might have been if she had continued with education at Phalombe Secondary School, or if her parents had lived.
Alice’s story is not very different from Sara’s (real name withheld), 30, who also benefitted from the project in question.
Sara told us that she was once happily married. She and her husband left their village in Zomba in search of greener pastures.
However, life turned into a nightmare after her husband died.
Unable to sustain the second-hand clothes business her husband had been running, Sara struggled to feed her children and eventually turned to sex work.
Her turning point came the day a man threw her out of his car after having sex with her without paying. She reported the matter to police, and the near-death experience terrified her—especially the thought of leaving her children alone in the world.
Through the organisation, Sara learned new skills that helped her manage her household and support her children, one of whom is now in secondary school.
Since then, she has been able to find occasional work and sustain her family.
Though the two women are no longer trapped in abuse, their lives are still far from stable. They dream of one day owning sewing machines to start their own tailoring businesses.
Their stories are not just about survival but about the heavy weight of trying to live while the past keeps pulling them back.
PSGR Executive Director Caleb Ng’ombo indicated that many people misunderstand human trafficking, believing that it only involves victims taken abroad.
“The reality is that many Malawians are being exploited right here at home,” Ng’ombo said.
Women’s rights advocate Lingalireni Mihowa said there is a need for the government and stakeholders to intensify protection mechanisms.
“There is an urgent need to tighten our policies and systems if we are to win the fight against human trafficking,” she said.
Mihowa further expressed concern that in many cases where women are coerced into illegal activities, the victims themselves are heavily blamed without considering the circumstances that pushed them there.
Fortunately, the government claims that it is on top of things.
According to Gender Minister Jean Sendeza, the government, through her ministry, has been putting in place mechanisms for ensuring that women’s lives are protected.
She says the government is ensuring that girls, women and other vulnerable groups in the society are being supported through various mechanisms, all of which are premised on ensuring that the country meet Malawi 2063 vision goals.
