Nearly every time her husband had taken liquor, Beatrice Lucius, 43, would brace for night-long physical and verbal assault.

The violent conduct gradually took its toll on her life.

“It felt like I was in prison,” she says. “At times, he would beat me up for even petty reasons such as taking time to prepare food for him.”

Lucius suffered in silence as the prevalent culture in Mzimba requires a woman should be submissive to her husband.

“I’d to shut up even when he was abusive,” explains the mother of four in Malama Ng’oma Village, Traditional Authority Mtwalo in the district.

Lucius’s plight was, however, simply a tip of an iceberg of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) fuelled by male-dominated norms, behaviour and practices in Mzimba District.

Five kilometres away, Judith Phangula of Kabogodo Nyirenda Village is grappling with the burden of taking care of five children single-handedly after her husband dumped her in 2012 and went to South Africa where he married another woman.

Happy again: Mvula (2nd L) with his wife, Lucius (C) after being reconcilled by the women forum

“Since he left,” she narrates, “he has never sent any assistance. I have had to toil in the crop field to feed and educate my children alone. It has never been easy, but I have no option.”

Lucius, Phangula and other SGBV survivors are beneficiaries of ActionAid Malawi’s Audacity to Disrupt Gender-Based Violence Project in the country’s largest district.

The project financed through UN Women under the funded Spotlight Initiative funded by the European Union helps women and girls lift the lid on SGBV.

One of the pillars of the project is building women movement.

ActionAid Malawi has facilitated the establishment and revamping of 78 women forums, including Tikoleraneko in Lucius and Phangula’s area.

The forums unite about 2500 women, mostly SGBV survivors.

Following sensitisations by the women forums on the need for SGBV survivors to open up and report their cases, Lucius gathered courage and reported her abusive husband, Maxwell Mvula, to Tikoleraneko Women Forum.

Jane Moyo, leader of Tikoleraneko Women Forum says the movement counselled Mvula against victimising his wife.

The community-based activist says they also discussed anti-GBV laws with the abusive spouse and sternly warned him against engaging in such a behaviour again.

A remorseful Mvula says he regrets assaulting his wife and promises never to indulge in any form of GBV again because he now knows the dangers and penalties for the malpractice.

“I am now living happily with my wife”, he says. “I have realised that one reason we failed to progress as a family was GBV. We could not sit down as a family to plan together on how to source and utilise the income.”

Mvula says he is now a changed man.

“I respect my wife as a key partner to the wellbeing of the family. I shall never beat her again,” he pledges.

Tikoleraneko Women Forum also took Phangula on board as executive member of the forum, which also engages in village savings and loans initiative to economically empower SGBV survivors.

Moyo attributes the forum’s strides to effective collaboration with other allies such as the male champions and traditional leaders in the area.

Speaking at a recent project activity in Mzimba, Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa V commended ActionAid Malawi and other stakeholders for empowering women against SGBV in the district.

The topmost Ngoni chief in Mzimba said SGBV incidents remain high in the district.

He also called for increased collaboration to end early marriages and keep girls in school.

His call resonates with Phangula who does not want any other woman to go through what she experienced at the hands of her husband.

She feels lucky to be empowered to confront gender-based violence.

Phangula states: “Through Tikoleraneko Women Forum, we are conducting awareness meetings every week to ensure that women and girls don’t experience gender-based violence here.

“We also work with relevant structures such as police, community victim support units, child protection workers and in handling GBV cases.”

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