Hello!
I am a black woman in an African country!
I am 28 years old.During my school years I have been A very supportive and non biased friend.I started teaching my class mates as early as I started school.It is obvious that I am a teacher but I chose a different career due to financial issues.
I am an accountant.Earlier last year I received a job offer I could refuse not because of pay but because it was going to expose me into a wider new field that I thought would help my career growth.
I always believed in woman empowerment,and didn’t not like the idea of sexual harassment in work areas.
My boss started having multiple relationships in the office with the female employee’s,some who were student interns.
This led to disbanding the only male employee we had.I tried advocating for the young interns only to find out that the were being paid for sex.
It hurt my pride.When I though I was helping them the turned me into the enemy.As early as January I was the only person in the office that did not sleep with the boss.
With my position it was hard to maintain discipline in the office.I began being labeled a jealous person as everyone including the appointed female CEO though I was blocking their way.
They finally found a reason to lay me off the job.The company said it can no longer support itself.I was then blamed for mismanagement of funds.
As a strong argument my boss said he can’t afford to pay the three months salaries that were lever due.
I went home knowing that I didn’t break any moral rules.As painful as this was (me being jobless) I went home with no regrets.
When I thought of starting over something else came in.My then boyfriend stole my savings(I borrowed a friend cash and he paid me through a car,which I was to sell an claimed my money).I lost all the money and the day I went to confront him I found another woman .
These two beat me up knowing I was pregnant during the time.
I ran to his mother house who is an ex-police officer for help but she ignored me.They tried every way to lure me into discussing the matter withou police engagement.I finally took him and his mistress to the police.His mom managed to get him out and they only agreed to pay me an amount that was quite small of which I was to receive in small installments.
Again I faced a situation we’re I though another woman would help me but got disappointed.
I have had several breakdowns tried committing suicide several times because my world has fallen.
I am jobless,abandoned and pregnant (5months now)
It hurt that even with my level of education (Bachelor’s degree) I can’t find an adequate institute to help me( the police joked about my situation being more of a love rivalry rather than a violent crime)
I can’t get the help I need in any of my cases,most of the international organizations that deal with violence against women or mental health are hard to reach.They are selective in operations and sometime can’t reach the right people.
I couldn’t help but think of the people in rural areas who can’t find their voices against violence.
I also wonder how many young women were forced into sexual harassment at work places just to secure their jobs to earn a living?
It is clear that we in Africa still lack female voice advocacy in many ways.There is a big gap between males and females even with the increase of global campaigns.