Wife ‘Disciplines’ Husband

-As Domestic Violence Takes New Face In Liberia

By Esau J. Farr

It is often said from the African background that is a ‘Big brother continues to suppress the smaller one, one day he could meet out with a very stiff resistance,’ and that was the case of a middle age man only identified as ‘Taa-ma-Nyen-lay’ (Town Cat).

‘Taa-ma-Nyen-lay’ which is interpreted as ‘Town Cat’ in the Kpelle language of Liberia simply refers to a cat that stays in town all day long but is bent on stealing food in various hiding places.

Before the inception of the just ended regime of the former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the word ‘Gender’ was widely understood to mean woman in Liberia even now, despite countless awareness and campaigns carried out by different rights groups and activists.

The now Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in Liberia, formerly, the Ministry of Gender is a classic example.

Before, during and after the civil wars in Liberia, it began widely understood that ‘Gender’ was meant woman to the extent that if a man was appointed at the Ministerial position of the ministry, it was seen as an abomination and something rare (uncommon).

Needless to see a man says he works at the Ministry of Gender. Thanks to civil society organizations and international partners for education and awareness thus.

The issue of Domestic Violence had and continues to attract the attention of both local and international partners in Liberia and world as a whole.

From the African setting in which Liberia finds herself, domestic violence is believed and seen to be committed against women more than men in general.

But it is seen that one strong and well built up woman, Younger (not her real name) is not giving room to the devil as she has now gone on the rampage openly subduing her husband in open streets in the city of Gbarnga.

Our reporter who visited the area over the weekend bumped into a huge crowd that was growing to witness a woman avenging for herself over allegation of her husband insulting her in their home (Gbarnga Duala Community) and escaping the scene.

It was at that point that Younger encouraged herself, tied her lappa tightly and ran after the escaping man who she later jacked-out at the intersection of the Ganta-Kokoyah New Road near the Serengeti Guest House in the Gbarnga-Duala Community and whipped the ‘Devil’ out of him.

“They tell you say I will be afraid of you again; this is not before when you used to do wicked things to me while I sit down and cry like my mother died. From now on, if you bring it to me, I will give it to you the same way,” she shouted over the head of her ‘Sugar Lump’ and Sweetheart.

“It’s too much and what’s that; They tell you say that all the times you will go all around Gbarnga here while I go out struggling just to find daily bread and when you come home you only eat and insult me over it as my thank and you feel I will not talk? I beg God yah,” she unleashed her anger.

None of the two persons at the central of the fight was willing to explain what really beat the war drum as community residents shun New Republic Reporter upon recognizing him as a journalist and even prevented others from explaining the cause of the fight, but all that the man who was being whipped could say was “You see people coming see us in Newspaper now, stop what you are doing to me and my disgrace is also your disgrace,”.

As the crowd grew so were the songs being sang became plentiful amongst which were, … “They equal, you’ll leave them, Moral high and Bulgarboy and Split peas fighting Argo go join itself there,” just to name a few.

It is now time that the issue of domestic violence be a priority in various communities as it is now taking a new look especially if a woman can tighten her grips and subdue her ‘Sugar Daddy’ in open street corners and Mass Choir, Male Chorus and others singing unwanted songs.