Letters From Beyond
By Prudence Natsai Muganiwah-Zvavanjanja
Published by New Heritage Press (2016)
ISBN 978-0-7974-7171-9

ABUSE against women is still one of the biggest problems facing many countries in both developing and developed nations.
It is against this backdrop that the United Nations set aside the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence which run from November 25 to December 10 every year.
The 16 days are dedicated to ending gender based violence against women and girls but it seems cases of abuse are still increasing around the world.
Some traditions and religious practices in different societies have perpetuated the abuse of women.
The book under review this week, Letters from Beyond, looks at the various behaviours affecting women in different African societies.
Written by Prudence Natsai Muganiwah-Zvavanjanja, the book is a no-holds-bar as it frankly looks at issues that continue to cripple women and preventing them from realising their full potential.
Mostly it highlights the plight of women in the marriage institution who in most cases, in the African society suffer in desperate silence.
It is a voice for voiceless women.
These women suffer silently not speaking out to ‘protect’ and ‘preserve’ their marriages and well-being of the children
The main protagonist in Letters from Beyond is Olivia who is plucked from poverty in her village home of UzumbaMarambaPfungwe and is taken to the city.
But the bright lights of the city do not bring her joy. Instead, she becomes a victim of abuse.
In her marriages, first to Henry and later Stan, the author shows how abuse and domestic violence comes in different forms.
The story ends tragically as Olivia eventually dies.
The author vividly captures and highlights the numerous challenges that are an albatross on the neck of women not just in the country, but elsewhere on the continent.
Interestingly, the author does not look at or blame the patriarchal system that is dominant and blamed for women suffering on the continent, but looks at aspects of the contemporary lifestyle causing women to suffer.
In spite of being faithful and a devote Christian, Olivia was betrayed by those close to her.
Olivia is brilliantly portrayed as a larger than life character that not only loves whole-heartedly, but is resilient under harsh circumstances.
Olivia, who is portrayed as a ‘weak’ woman, endured all the scolding and beatings from her husband and it is religion through hymns and prayers that gives her comfort.
Like many abused women in African societies, Olivia hides her anger and sorrow, drowning herself in religious activities seeking solutions in prayer.
“I hated the woman I had gradually become — always singing church hymns to reassure myself, to make sense of every situation, to vent out my frustrations and more often, to invoke some happiness,” writes Muganiwah-Zvavanjanja.
The hymns and submissive language that Olivia uses to endure the physical and emotional abuse evokes in the reader feelings of pity and empathy.
In Letters from Beyond, one notes that the blame lies not only on men, but women are also involved in the abuse of fellow women.
Sister betrays sister by ‘taking’ their husband.
The permissiveness of society has left the women suffering more. For instance, Olivia’s husband Stan has a secret affair with a relative which leads him contracting HIV and infecting innocent Olivia.
“I was pregnant and HIV positive, apparently…”
In Olivia’s case, her aunt, mother-in-law, sister and cousins are involved in her abuse.
“It was easy to see through her bespectacled eyes, that she always looked at me from top down. Her eyes spoke volumes,” says Olivia describing her mother-in-law.
“Last time she came and I asked her if she wanted me to run a bath for her, she said, ‘Ko ndine tsvina yakanyanyoita seiko muroora kuzonditi ndigeze ndisina kana chandaisa mumuromo?”
From her mother-in-law, Olivia experienced the worst of emotional abuse.
And her husband made it worse by physically abusing her.
“He punched me in the face and two of my teeth fell out. He continued to punch me harder and harder until I blacked out,” says the protagonist.
“Gradually I became conditioned to accept pain as part of life, that my smiles were almost always short-lived, and that people had the right to hurt me,” reveals the author.
Even though Olivia dies, the death is a rude awakening, it is not just a tragedy but a strong reminder to the seriousness of abuse of the womenfolk.
The book is a must read, it is an eye-opener to one of the problems threatening sustainable development on the continent.