The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Sunday News Correspondent
A Silobela girl has developed animal like fur after she has been locked in a house for more than a decade because her parents were ashamed about her disability.
And probably because of living indoors one can be forgiven for mistaking the girls’ furry body for a baboon.
The girl (name withheld and age unknown), was born with cerebral palsy and the family has been depriving her of her rights since birth.
This was heard at a Gender-Based Violence Co-ordination meeting in Kwekwe last Friday.
Kwekwe District Women Affairs Officer Mrs Leatsanda Mawoneke said the girl has been caged like an animal because her parents were ashamed of her condition.
“The girl is practically caged like an animal because of her condition. The situation is so bad that they are practically abusing the child,” she said.
She hasn’t been allowed to go out of the house or to associate with the outside world.
The derelict hut which she lives in is also cleaned while she is served food without her being allowed to move out of the hut.
“We urge families of people living with disabilities not to hide their children but seek advice and help whenever necessary,” said Mrs Mawoneke.
Cerebral palsy is considered a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury of malformation that occurs while the child’s brain is under development.
The condition primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination.
