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Betty Makoni

by Manahil from San Diego

 (                   women4africa.com)
( women4africa.com)

"I was raped as a six-year-old and there was silence around it in my neighbourhood. If we talked about stolen cars and stolen cows, how come not about the stolen dignities of women?"(Smallman). This is the voice of a woman who has taken her negative and brutal childhood and turned it into not only her biggest strength but also a sign of hope for all girls in her country. "Betty Makoni is a Zimbabwean activist fighting to rescue girls from sexual abuse"(Elbagir). She was born on  June 22, 1971 in a small town named Rusape."At 6, Betty Makoni was raped. She was a child labourer, selling candles in her village. A neighbour invited her and nine other girls into his house, locked them in a room and sexually violated each one. That was her introduction to life as a female in Zimbabwe. At 7, she asked her mother why women never spoke out when men brutalized them. "Sh!" her mother warned. "These things are private." At 9, after one particularly vicious episode of domestic abuse, she lost her mother" (Carol). After surviving these tragic traumas  she vowed to dedicate her entire life towards the protection of young girls against sexual abuse(Betty Makoni). Betty had to fight and work day and night to get an education good enough to qualify for going to college and getting a degree. She valued the importance and power of a good education because she considered it to be the only way to be heard and successfully carry out her dream to bring peace and a safe environment for young girls in her country. In 1998 the need to establish an organization which focused on helping heal the sexually abused became very important for young Zimbabwean girls" ("Global Award Winning Charity With Best Practice in Empowering Girls.") "By 1999, there were so many clubs that Makoni gave up her teaching job to run the Girl Child Network"(Carol). Betty is currently married to an engineer and has three children, all boys. Betty Makoni has brought herself up from being oppressed and sexually abused to the ranking and respect every women should deserve. Getting this respect required a lot of courage to stand up against the men in a sexist country along with determination and a great deal of optimism and hard work. Making a change in the old mentalities and bringing knowledge to her country one individual at a time, Betty has been given the title of a princess from a royal kingdom for her impact on Zimbabwean girls. In a country where women are given little or no importance at all, Betty Makoni was recognized as a courageous woman who stood up for her rights, a determined woman who fought for other girls rights and a great leader who is the voice of the abused and pained women.

 (muzvarebettymakoni.org ())
(muzvarebettymakoni.org ())

In a country where women were afraid of going against men, Betty stood up for herself and all the woman in her country. She is the true definition of courage, she found strength in the face of pain and grief. Betty stated in an interview "I lived in a family where domestic violence occurred daily. Almost all men in the neighbourhood were getting drunk and being bullies around" ("The Truth About: Betty Makoni."). Betty lived in a place where men were dominant over women and despite all the oppression, she had the courage and mentality of making a change. Living in a country where a woman had to be under constant fear of being abused and dominated by someone who differs just a gender infuriated Betty. Betty knew that fear wasn't going to end the violence and disrespect, therefore she brought about the courage within herself and started to make a change much needed in her country. In their article, world pulse stated that the Girl Child Network " is an enterprise where she churns out leaders using her personal experience starting the organization from the classroom to reaching its height at global level"(World Pulse). Betty became courageous enough to start an organization which helps girls feel safe and secure after being abused. Her courage led her to start the organization from one room to being recognized globally. Her connections to the sexually abused girls, and the violence they face not only helps the girls feel better but also brings a sense of contentment to Betty because her mother died from domestic violence, and if she can help women and girls fight against it then she knows it is worth all her hard work. She had the courage to get over the sexual abuse and she was able to build her strength from her past; spreading the word globally and get the awareness of how the violence and sexual abuse needs to come to an end. However spreading awareness wasn't the only challenge she had to get through during her road to bringing about peace because not everyone approved of Betty's struggle, she lives dangerously and is constantly being threatened for her work (Lönn, Andreas). Betty's hard work towards helping and shaping others' lives hasn't been easy at all, it has brought about many conflicts with the politicians. Due to the politicians misunderstandings about her purpose she had been threatened many times to leave and so therefore she moved to London. However, she wishes to be back in Zimbabwe soon. Despite all the hatred and misunderstandings she didn't give up on her love to help girls in her country. She has the courage to look past the people who threatened her because she knew how important her purpose to be there as an inspiration is for the girls going through the hardest times. Betty Makoni's courage got her through her hardships of being abused, and created a great impact on other girls lives and the mentality of other men in her country. Her courage proved the men wrong and showed that they aren't the only ones who have a voice that needs to be heard.

 (http://195.190.203.117/page.html?pid=1448 ())
(http://195.190.203.117/page.html?pid=1448 ())

Along with her boundless courage Betty Makoni is also a very well rounded and strong leader. She possess the attributes of a leader who is willing to dedicate her entire life for her country and become a representation of what her country's women are. Every leader has a goal they want to accomplish and as for Betty, she is hoping to mobilize women and girls all over the world to let their voice be heard "whenever" and "wherever" their rights are violated (World Pulse). A leader is always kind, caring and uplifting to her followers and Betty Makoni has all those traits. Betty is mentioned to be "a mentor, coach and trainer on gender equality, girls' rights and an inspiration to young women, influencing and empowering thousands"(World Pulse). Betty has fought for the rights of girls and been their voice and a way of expressing their pain through her qualities of being leadership. Not only does she possess the courage and voice of a leader but she also has a heart and an understands the of the pain the girls of her country are going through. In an interview Betty mentioned,"I am thinking about every woman in the world, and you can imagine how overwhelmed I am. But I'm now a happy woman"(Michel). Betty has always been caring and warmhearted ever since her traumatic experience and by having her childhood self in mind as well as the other young girls as well she is able to feel their pain; as well as leading them to become stronger women and live the life they deserve. Betty has been working very hard to get her country to take action against the abusive men. Betty and her organization, Girl Child Network:"speak out on behalf of girls in Zimbabwe by constantly encouraging the government to take care of the country's girls"(Lönn, Andreas). Betty and her group members from the GCN spoke out and demanded for the protection of their young girls. The government needed and still needs to start taking action towards the illiterate men who abuse girls for their illicit practices. Betty wants equality for women's rights in her country and also make sure that every girl lives a free childhood they derserve without any traumatic experiences. Betty has taken charge for what is right and is leading other to do the same.

By being courageous, and a great leader Betty has come incredibly far into her journey with a lot of determination. Betty described, "I grew up in a poor neighborhood and everything that saw me attaining my education to graduate level came from hard work with my hands"(World Pulse). Her determination and will for improving her future in a poor and sexist country was challenging but it brought great success to her and her dreams. Makoni's achievements started to grow gradually but are now growing rapidly day by day." From just one Girls' Club at Zengeza 1 High School, Zimbabwe, GCN now has 700 clubs in ten provinces of Zimbabwe and has eight countries that have replicated the model globally"(World Pulse). With her persistence and dedication to the betterment of her country and comforting of girls, Betty was able to bring forth a major contribution to the GCN. It all started with just one club. However, with the hope and willpower of Betty it has now been growing up to 700 clubs and being recognized globally. Through her growing success and recognition many offenders have been arrested. This has brought about many enemies from the sex offenders families("The Truth About: Betty Makoni."). However this hasn't stopped betty from accomplishing what's right. As she mentioned,"Initially, I grew up a very reserved girl. I was angry. I really wanted to be a police officer so that I'd track every rapist into jail. I wanted to be a magistrate so that I could send them all to jail. I also wanted to be a lawyer so that I could stand for young girls in court. So I tried everything, and I couldn't be admitted in those institutions. The last resort was to form my own organization. And now I've got lawyers, police, and everybody in the organization"(Michel) it shows that she had been strong willed towards providing justice to the heartless men who abused young girls from a very young age.She wanted to be everything so she could prove what's right and through the Girl Child Network she was able to have everything and everyone to do what's right.With her determination and willpower her dreams of providing justice and comfort to the girls is on a road to success.

 (http://teachaids.org/blog/teachaids-partners-with- ())
(http://teachaids.org/blog/teachaids-partners-with- ())

Betty Makoni has been fighting through many challenges ever since she was a child. Makoni has shown how determined she is to protect and help girls from sexual abuse. Betty also led girls to raise their voices against what's wrong and have their voices be heard. The Zimbabwean way of life has an extreme rate of child labor, forced marriage and Betty's purpose is to save girls and bring their own voices out and show that girls also have power and their words and actions matter. Every girl deserves respect and the right to feel wanted and in a country where all hope of getting that  respect had been lost Betty came along with her heart wrenching story and became an inspiration for the girls to show how one can bring about positivity in the future from their negative past.Betty's hard work, courage and determination paid off and she was able to bring about a safer and healthier lifestyle with peace. She is an inspiration because she has been through the toughest of times and has shown how  working hard for a better education and believing in yourself always brings a better future. Coming from a country where I have heard of stories where women have been treated brutally and with disrespect, it brings upon disbelief in humanity. Not only is the abuse a way of bringing fear but it also brings a sense of defeat and intimidation in women.  The world has gone far too long with criticizing differences between genders along with abusive language and actions to express them. Dominating men are people who seize women's voices, and rights, but Betty is that one courageous woman who is motivating every girl to raise their voice against the injustice and agony given to them. With Betty Makoni's courage, determination, and inspiration she will stand up for what is right and help make stronger women, one girl at a time.

Works Cited

"Betty Makoni-CNN Hero for Protecting the Powerless and Decade Child Rights Hero." Betty

Makoni-CNN Hero for Protecting the Powerless and Decade Child Rights Hero. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 07 May 2015. .

Carol, Goar. "Silent genocide of African women." Toronto Star (Canada) n.d.: Newspaper

Source. Web. 7 May 2015.

"Give African Women a Voice,' Say Activists - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d.

Web. 07 May 2015

"Global Award Winning Charity With Best Practice in Empowering Girls."Global Award

Winning

Charity With Best Practice in Empowering Girls. Girl Child Network, n.d. Web. 07 May

2015.

Lönn, Andreas, and Paul Blomgren. "World's Children's Prize - Betty Makoni." World's

Children's  Prize - Betty Makoni. WORLD'S CHILDRENS PRIZE FOUNDATION, n.d.

Web. 05 May 2015.

MICHEL, MARTIN. "..SGMT: Women Victims Of Crisis In Zimbabwe." Tell Me More (NPR)

(n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 7 May 2015.

"The Truth About: Betty Makoni." The Truth About: Betty Makoni. N.p., 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 07

May 2015.

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Page created on 5/22/2015 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/22/2015 12:00:00 AM

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