Women get raw deal

13 Jul, 2014 - 00:07 0 Views

The Sunday News

Charles Dube Highway to Success
JOSEPH Takundwa proves beyond doubt that he is materialistic. He forces his daughter Sofia to take up a job at Nyati’s office against her wish. He is excited when he hears that she would be paid nine thousand dollars. He says it’s a chance that should never be missed and jobs are the most difficult thing to find in the country at that moment.

We should be aware that this is a pre-arranged scheme between Takundwa and Nyati, to marry Sofia to the latter. Before Takundwa goes out he threatens Sofia and her mother telling them to use their brains for the first time in their lives. He claims to be tired of feeding people who are only good at eating. In the end Sofia had no choice but to report at Nyati’s office ready to start work. Nyati was very happy that Sofia had decided to take up the job.

Sofia was to work in Nyati’s office as his “personal secretary”. The job would give her a lot of opportunities to travel with Nyati on his numerous business trips. Nyati welcomed her saying she was the right person for the job. A high profile businessman like him needed a young girl of her qualities by his side. It sort of enhanced one’s image. What would be Sofia’s job in Nyati’s office? She has little education. She is untrained for any job. But she is told that she has already started working.

When she asks for the day’s job Nyati immediately dipped into his pocket and fished out a ward of twenty dollar notes. She was told to go into town and buy herself all the best dresses she could lay her hands on and if she ran short of cash she was not supposed to hesitate to come for some more. What generosity from Nyati? However, Sofia is modest and believes she needs to work first before being paid. Nyati dismisses that telling her not to be confused as that had nothing to do with her pay which would come at the end of the month. That was just a wardrobe allowance which he normally gave to all of his workers before they started working there.

He added: “It helps to give the company a good slick image if people here are well dressed and polished every time especially you who is going to be my personal secretary.

Remember you will be accompanying me on all my business trips, meetings and other important functions.” As days went by, Sofia began to realise that being a “personal secretary” really meant spending the whole day sitting in an office, polishing her fingernails. It also meant accompanying Nyati to his business lunches every afternoon, thus being forced to eat a lot of tasteless foods she had never eaten before.

Sofia noticed that Nyati enjoyed being seen with her more than he actually enjoyed her company. Most of Nyati’s friends had “personal secretaries” of her age whom they also brought along for lunch. That led Sofia to ask herself questions like: “How secure was I in this kind of job? What would happen to me if Nyati were to find a younger and better looking “personal secretary?” After acquiring skills such as using fork and knife when eating, Sofia wanted to learn typing saying she was tired of spending the whole day sitting doing nothing.

Nyati dismissed that telling her there was something better than typing he was arranging for her. He wanted her to do a high level course in business management. The course was equivalent to a university degree. All this was lies. How does this happen to a person of little education. Nyati stops Sofia from calling him Sir but wants to be called Richard or Richy. He claimed calling him “Sir” made him feel old and useless. He later takes Sofia to the Sheraton Hotel where he drugs her. The rest is history.

We hear Sofia telling us in the following words: “As I reflect on the painful memories of that fateful day, I just cannot understand how I could have been so naïve and blind. How could I have failed to see through the vain generosity? In my foolish blindness, I had been ensnared like the rat that died after eating poisoned sugar. All those expensive lunches, all those gifts, even the job were the bait that had been used to trap me.”

Remember Sofia killed Nyati later in the story. At this point in time we meet Joseph Takundwa for the second time where he carries out self-examination/introspection.

He says has lived a life full of dreams. He has admired men who have made it in life, men of substance, men for whom song and verse would be composed. He admires men who would capture the admiration of every woman on earth. He admires Nyati, the man who has defiled his daughter by making her pregnant. But he also has fears in his heart.

What fear? He says fear has always ruled his life. Fear ruined his military career in the Rhodesian army. He has failed to identify the source of these storms of nervousness that he experiences even when there is nothing to worry about. Maybe that is the reason why he prefers to remain drunk. He has uncovered the main cause of his failure. “This uneducated wife of mine is the main problem. Yes, I should never have married such an ignorant and useless woman. Good for nothing and always waiting to be fed.”

We pick it up from here next week.

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