The Sunday News
Fairness Moyana, Sunday News Correspondent
IT’S dusk in Chabasitshana village, Dete in rural Hwange as 15-year-old Pertunia Ndlovu (not her real name) prepares to attend to her newly found part-time job. She applies her make-up before slipping on a blouse and a pair of tight pants which leaves most of her lower body imprinted.
Satisfied, she picks up her cellphone and handbag stuffed with condoms before heading out to Cross Dete Business Centre. In the hours that follow Pertunia will flaunt what her mother gave her in nightclubs and at long distance truck drivers parked next to the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo Road. Being young and fresh makes her a little marketable and it doesn’t take long before she finds clients who handsomely agree to her $5 charge.
She is on holiday as she is a pupil at a local secondary school and will be in her last year at secondary when schools open on Tuesday and under normal circumstances she should be studying like her peers, but her case is far from normal.
Her parents are among the many who relocated to South Africa under the guise of seeking greener pastures while she was 13, leaving her to assume the guardianship of her three siblings with the aid of her ailing grandmother.
It’s been two years since she last saw her parents and since then the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings has fallen solely on her although the parents occasionally send something for them that is seldom enough for their upkeep.
She has therefore turned to prostitution to supplement what little her parents send them on an occasional basis, otherwise they are forgotten.
Pertunia says she has learnt to accept her fate after being abandoned by her parents who haven’t been home for the past two years, making them a poverty statistic.
“I was left with no choice after my parents left us in the care of our ailing grandmother, promising to come back as soon as possible. We never thought they will be gone this long and our situation worsened when they stopped sending money. The food aid that granny receives — a bucket of maize, two litres of cooking oil and 1kg of peas does not cover the family adequately.
“Sometimes granny doesn’t have money for the grinding mill which forces us to borrow from our neighbours who after we accumulated a debt no longer assist us. Even some relatives seem to have distanced themselves from us because of our predicament. There are so many things that require money like school fees for myself and my younger brother and sisters, besides that as a girl I have needs too like sanitary wear,” she sobs as she narrates her ordeal.
Zimbabwe Poverty Atlas Report (2015) paints a gloomy picture indicating that overall poverty prevalence for Hwange rural stood at 68,5 percent which translates to 20 000 poverty stricken households compared to 4 000 non-poor ones.
The report states that Kachechete ward had the highest poverty prevalence of 89,7 percent compared to Dete ward which recorded the lowest rate of 60,5 percent. The district which lies in region five is characterised by low rainfall which results in poor yields and limited livelihood opportunities.
Pertunia says she was introduced into the world’s oldest profession by a friend from the village, herself a celebrated senior after approaching her to lend her money to buy food.
“A friend of mine called Sarah introduced me to this business when I went to her for help. It was very difficult at first having to sleep with men you don’t even know or love. I would feel so dirty and used because some of them would be old enough to be my grandfather. It’s not easy but I adapted, sometimes our clients are rough and refuse to use protection in return for more money. At times when business is low we are forced to charge as little as a $1 just to raise enough to buy food,” she said.
Sadly it is rumoured that Pertunia’s parents separated while in South Africa and chances of either returning any time soon have vanished.
“I know what I’m doing is dangerous but I’m trapped. I have no choice. I can’t stand my siblings starving while my parents are sitting pretty wherever they are, having abandoned us. I am not sure but there are unconfirmed reports that they separated in South Africa.”
About 20km east of the resort town of Victoria Falls in Lupinyu, Sihle Mathe (16) is also making her way to a popular night spot near the airport with her two peers. She was forced to drop out of school after falling pregnant while in Form 2 at another secondary school under Chief Mvuthu’s area.
“I dropped out of school after I fell pregnant at 14. I went to live with the man who had impregnated me at his family home in Mununa (Jambezi). However, since he was not employed, the family was struggling until he made a decision to go to South Africa to look for employment. After the whole year passed without him sending money, his parents suggested I go back home of which I did. Being at home with my mother was comforting but the situation in terms of money and food was worse,” says Sihle.
Caught between a rock and a hard place she resorted to prostitution, targeting revellers from Victoria Falls, airport staff and truck drivers who stop by the famous Lupinyu Business Centre. The area reportedly witnessed an increase in commercial sex work activity following the upgrading of the Victoria Falls International Airport.
Sihle is not only one of the youngest child prostitutes in the district but she is also a victim of child marriage. Government and gender activists acknowledge that teenage or child marriage is a national problem in the country with almost one in four teenage girls being married.
As poverty and the economic hardships ravage through rural communities in Hwange District girls as young as 14 are dropping out of school and joining the world’s oldest profession in order to survive. The El Nino-induced drought has worsened the situation as it left most rural communities exposed to starvation and increased young girls’ vulnerability and dropping out of school.
Child prostitution has become rampant at Lupinyu, Cross Dete and Halfway Growth Points along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway as prostitutes target long distance haulage truck drivers who make stop-overs in the areas.
The development where because of desperation the girls sometimes charge as little as a $1 has contributed to an increase in STIs, HIV incidence rate, early pregnancy and child marriages.
Latest statistics show an increase in child prostitution at growth points along the highway with National Aids Council (NAC) singling out Hwange district as a hotspot for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The District Action Aids Coordinator, Mr Nehemiah Ndlovu recently revealed that the district was saddled with heavy STI burden, the highest in the province ranked third on national HIV prevalence rate.
“We should take cognisance that HIV and Aids remains one of our challenges especially for young people in Hwange District. According to the 2015-16 Zimbabwe Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (Zimphia) the provincial HIV prevalence currently stands at 20,1 percent while the incidence stands at 0,74 percent. Hwange District has an HIV prevalence rate of 13 percent and an incidence of 0,44 percent. Despite its low HIV prevalence rate the district is saddled with a high rate of sexually transmitted infections in the,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said the high rate was attributed to a complex network of hotspots which were fuelled by mining and tourism activities coupled with the prevalence of several truck stops along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo highway. The district has four truck-stops with the popular ones being Hwange urban and Cross Dete where prostitution is rife.
“This burden is due to the complex network of hotspots fuelled by mining activities, tourism and the high number of truck-stops along our highway. Hwange District was thus selected to host the commemorations of the provincial World Aids Day on the basis of its high STI burden which is higher than all districts in the province,” said Mr Ndlovu.
The district was recently rocked by a new phenomenon with school girls as young as 13 engaging in prostitution at Cross Dete, one of the HIV and STI hotspots.
The province that has seven districts has an estimated 72 377 people living with HIV of which 66 619 are on ART while Hwange District alone has 13 095 clients on treatment.
A recent household assessment by Zimphia reports that three Matabeleland provinces are leading in HIV prevalence rates in the country with the national HIV prevalence rate having slightly decreased from 15 percent to 14,6 percent.
Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces have rates above the national average.
“Matabeleland South recorded a prevalence of 22,3 percent followed by Matabeleland North at 20,1 percent while Bulawayo stands at 18,7 percent. Prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 64 years in Zimbabwe is 14,6 percent: 16,7 percent among females and 12,4 percent among males. This corresponds to approximately 1,2 million people living with HIV aged 15 to 64 years in Zimbabwe,” read the report.
The report also read that Manicaland has an adult prevalence rate of 11,4 percent, Mashonaland West (12,9 percent), Mashonaland Central at 13,6 percent, Mashonaland East and Midlands both have 14 percent, Masvingo 14,9 percent while Harare stands at 14,2 percent.
Pertunia and Sihle’s stories are a clear testimony to the fact that poverty is the leading cause of child prostitution and marriages and the stubborn decrease of HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe. Gender activists agree that one of the key drivers in child marriages is poverty where 20 percent of girls from the poorest families are likely to marry before the age of 18. Gender inequality culminating into gender discrimination was also cited as one of the major drivers.
Research shows that adolescent girls’ pregnancy varied widely according to wealth, geographic location and education with teen pregnancies also higher among the poor.
At least 33,3 percent of girls from poor backgrounds were already mothers compared to 6,1 percent of their counterparts from well-to-do-backgrounds.
Though Mashonaland Central was the worst province affected by child marriages with 50 percent prevalence, Matabeleland North’s 27 percent prevalence rate is a cause for concern. These efforts are part of the global campaign to end child marriages.
