Prisca Ntalasha
By ANNIE ZULU
On her wheelchair,
Taonga Phiri sings her favourite bemba hymn, "Lesa ekachema wandi,"
which means "The Lord is my Shepherd," and the sorrow and pain in her
voice cannot be overlooked.
She was born with
paralysed legs and is unable to walk. She is not depressed as a result of her
condition because she has lived with it for the past 18 years and accepted her
fate. She is depressed because a heinous incident that happened to her three years
ago still haunts her.
Taonga, the youngest of
her parents' four children, was raped when she was 15 by an unknown man, and
the incident not only left her psychologically traumatised, but also physically
injured. She has a bone injury on her right hip from the process and requires
immediate medical attention.
She had travelled with
her mother from Lusaka, her hometown, to Chipata, Eastern Province, for a
funeral when the incident occurred.
Taonga`s
Nightmare
Taonga vividly recalls
a man pushing her to the ground and forcing her legs wide open in the backyard
of one of the huts, where she was alone.
The rapist, whose face
she couldn't recall, told her not to scream and threatened to kill her if she
did.
"I couldn't run
away or fight him. I was afraid of dying, so I let him do whatever he wanted
with me," Taonga explains.
She has never told
anyone about the incident until now because she is afraid, particularly of her
mother, who she claims is harsh to her.
Her father, who died
earlier this year, was the only person she said showed her love and care.
Taonga begs this
reporter to help her get rid of the pain on her right hip bone that she has
been experiencing since the rape.
"Sometimes I can't
sleep at night because the pain is too intense. I just want this pain to go
away; please help me," Taonga cries.
`Mr
Nice` Turns Rapist
Chipo Siyadindi, 30, of
Lusaka's Kuku Township is another victim of sexual violence. She, too, is
unable to walk and relies on a traditional wooden wheelchair.
Chipo was 26 years old
when she was raped by Lupupa, a man she lived in the same neighbourhood with and who was 'nice' to her.
"He wheeled me to
an unfinished building and said he liked me, and before I knew it, he was on
top of me. I was not prepared, I sobbed as he raped me. Lupupa was so nice to
me, and I had no idea he could be so nice to me," Chipo recalled.
Chipo discovered she
was pregnant a few months later; however, Lupupa rejected the pregnancy when
approached, stating that he cannot accept a baby from a "disabled woman."
"My son is now
four years old, and I have been supporting him solely through begging and the
money I receive from the government through Social Cash Transfer. I haven't
seen Lupupa since," she explained.
Saved
by a Scream
Prisca Ntalasha's story
differs slightly from Taonga and Chipo's.
Prisca, who is 45 years
old and uses a wheelchair, narrowly avoided being raped by a family friend.
"I was 27 years
old when my elder sister left me at home with a male family friend to go
shopping. He saw an opportunity to touch me, but I screamed, neighbours came to
my rescue, and he ran away," Prisca explained.
Prisca is still
traumatised by the incident, despite the fact that she was not rapped and that
many years have passed.
"I am always
afraid and suspicious of men, especially those who try to approach me, because
I believe they want to rape me," she explained.
These three stories
represent many girls and women with disabilities who have not only been
sexually assaulted but have also suffered in silence.
Thousands of girls and
women are raped in Zambia each year, with people with disabilities among the
victims.
People with
disabilities, according to the United Nations (UN), are those who have
"long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that,
when combined with other barriers, may impede their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others."
Lack
of Statistics on Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities
Zambia Police's 2021
Annual Gender Based Violence (GBV) Statistical Report shows that at least 3,031
sexual offences against girls and women were reported across the country in
2021.
However, the report
does not specify how many of those cases involved girls and women with
disabilities.
According to this reporter's
findings, national prevalence data on violence against women and girls with
disabilities are not available in Zambia, as it is in many other Southern
African countries, including Malawi and Botswana.
To back up this, Emmah
Kaputo, Rehabilitation and Research Senior Officer at the Zambia Agency for
Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD), a quasi-governmental organisation responsible
for disability issues, stated in an interview that the agency currently has no
data or statistics on sexual violence against girls and women with
disabilities, despite receiving reports.
Ms. Kaputo, on the
other hand, stated that plans to create a database for such cases are in the
works.
"We have developed
a Disability Information System (DIS) for all people with disabilities, and we
are now planning to create a database of all cases involving people with
disabilities," she explained.
Call
for Action
Global evidence
suggests that the prevalence of violence among people with disabilities is
higher than among those without disabilities. This is especially true for women
and girls with disabilities, who are subjected to all forms of violence,
including gender-based violence (GBV).
According to Bwalya
Chilufya, National Coordinator and Activist of the Zambia National Association
for Women with Disabilities (ZNADWO), sexual violence against girls and women
with disabilities is on the rise in Zambia.
"There is no safe
place for girls and women with disabilities out there; they are raped on a
daily basis in communities and even in their homes; they are more vulnerable,
and the majority of them are unable to defend themselves. It's real and it's
everywhere," Ms Chilufya explained.
She did observe,
however, that most victims do not report because they are stigmatised by the
community and, in some cases, the police.
"When they report,
in most cases, no one believes them; instead, they are ridiculed, and no one
wants to be ridiculed." "More sensitization is required for victims,
law enforcement, and the community," she said.
Sexual violence against
girls and women with disabilities is undeniably prevalent in Zambia, and the
importance of all stakeholders paying close attention to the issue cannot be
overstated.
These
girls and women are daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, wives, friends,
and, above all, human beings who, like those without disabilities, require
protection.
