Girlfriend

I almost forgot about the inequality between men and women in Swaziland. I was quickly reminded of it on our first trip to town on public transportation. I can’t even count how many times we’ve been harassed by men. It takes everything I have within me not to say something rude back to them, but we have to be careful not to make them angry with us. Men stare at us, grab us, and tell us they love us and want to marry us. Just yesterday I was sitting on the bus when a very intoxicated man (keep in mind it was barely 10 am) got inches from my face and started telling me how much he wanted to go back to England with me. He then moved back towards his friends and began saying things that I would rather not repeat. I could feel the anger rush up inside me. Had this been on a bus in America there would have been plenty of people to tell him to stop and get off the bus. However, people here just laugh.

The lack of respect for women here is so infuriating to me. Many men here believe they have all the power, and yet it is the women I see here who exude the most strength. We saw one woman get out of a van with a three year old strapped to her back, a gigantic bag of groceries carried on her head, and even more bags in her hand begin walking down the street with no assistance from anyone. Walking through town we saw two boys drop their book bags in front of their little sister and tell her to carry their bags for them. She picked up the bags and slowly trudged along behind them. I could probably count on one hand the number of men I’ve met here who I’ve seen clear evidence of them being good fathers and husbands. In fact, there seems to be a lack of middle aged and older men present in the family unit at all.

The good news for me is that I get to go back to a country where I don’t have to worry about my safety every time I walk through town, I have a Dad who still opens the car door for me, and I am taught in school that I can do anything a man can do. All of my life I have been taught to respect myself and to never let a man think its okay for him to belittle me or think that I am less than him. But what about the girls here in Swazi?

Meet Sethabile. This little girl is itty bitty and the boss of all the boys at the carepoint. She is fiercely brave, hilarious, and comes with a lot of attitude. It breaks my heart to think that one day her staggering spirit may be broken because of the environment she lives in. Who will tell her how important she is? Who will tell her that she’s beautiful and more precious than gold? Who will protect her and teach her that she shouldn’t take disrespect from anyone? It is my prayer that as Sethabile grows and matures she will recognize who she is in God’s eyes, and that one day this itty bitty girl will grow up to be a powerful woman of God.