Little Whores: Volume 1

From the first few days in the village I had become aware that prostitution is very much present, and it starts very young. One night while Mary was showing me where a nearby grocery was we passed girls dancing along the dirt track. I assumed they just liked the music playing from the very over sized speakers on the porch of a brick house across the path. I noticed the girls were very young and I was watching them dance. Mary whispered, “Those girls dance along the path to attract boys, see that one with a baby on her back, she is 15 and had to drop out of primary school.” I said, “Are these girls prostitutes?” Mary who I think at first did not hear me said, “No.” I rephrased the question as I so often have to do, “Do these girls have money in exchange for sex?” Mary said, “Yes, they are trying to earn money, many of them are school girls.” My heart ached seeing the young girl with a baby strapped to her back swaying along to the music on that dirt path. I knew I needed to know more. 

 This week I asked a 21 year old school student that lives close to me if he knew any girls that were prostitutes. He said yes. I told him I wanted to speak with one and if he would let them know that would be great. This is how I met Ruth, she is a 17 year old girl who lives in my village. Ruth came to my house yesterday morning while I was cooking breakfast, I was not expecting her at this time. I also thought I would need a translator because Ruth left school during form two (which is equivalent to 10th grade). Ruth did not know why I had wanted to meet with her but I thought I would just give it a try. I offered her one of my two plastic chairs and cleaned up a bit. I then explained to Ruth why I had asked her to come meet with me. I told her I am looking to know more about prostitution and hear girls' stories. I also told her my ultimate goal/dream is to compile a book of these stories and maybe be able to start a scholarship program so girls could go to school. I asked Ruth if she was involved with prostitution, she said yes. I then asked if she was willing to tell me her story, and she was.

In July 2012 I was a border at a secondary school. I had heard from a boy that my father wanted to kill me. The boy lives in the same village as my father and said that he overhead my father saying he wanted to be a rich man, he needed to kill me so he would no longer have to pay my school fees. One night I was sleeping in my bed and I heard a knocking on the door. My roommate went to answer the door. Standing at the door was my father with a knife, I remembered what the boy told me about him wanting to kill me. My roommate asked, "Who are you?" My father saw me and screamed, "Yes, I want you! Just come out!" I said, "I am not coming out, I have heard you want to kill me." My father then became afraid and left. I went to tell my teacher that my father came to the school with a knife. The teacher gave me money for a minibus to go visit my father's mother. When I got to my grandmother I told her what had happened. She was very angry. She called my father and said, "You cannot kill her just because you do not want to pay school fees! I want to kill you!" Then my grandmother took me to the police, my father was arrested and put into jail.

One month after being in jail my father was released. When he got out, he came to the school, broke into my room and took my bedding, clothes, and books. He later burned them in front of his home. Because I had no more money for school or to replace my items I had to drop out. I then moved back into my mother's house. My mother has two children from a different man, a girl who is 23, and a boy who is 20. My brother is being supported by my grandparents to attend secondary school, because I am a girl, I am not supported. While living in my mother's house my brother got poison from my uncle and tried to kill me. Because I was afraid to stay at home I got money from my mom and some from my teacher and went to live in Lilongwe with another uncle. Life in Lilongwe was very good, I had clothes and plenty of food. I stayed with my uncle for three months until I heard the uncle that wanted me dead had been murdered. He stole two bags of maize from a rich man, the man became angry and poisoned him. I wanted to go home. I still did not feel safe at my mother's house because my brother was living there, so I moved into my dead uncle's home. My family supported me with some clothes and things for the home, also other family members have given me some food. But it is still not enough, many days I only eat once, and it is because a neighbor will see me walking by and offer to give me food.

On December 15th, 2013 I was visiting my grandmother in Ntcheu. While walking on the street I saw a boy that I had known. He asked me why I was not in school, I told him my story. He said, "I will pay your school fees if you will be with me." I agreed that I would have sex with him. We then went to his house. Yes, I enjoyed the sex and he was kind. I also insisted that he use a condom. When the sex was over he gave me 9,000 kwacha, this paid for my transport home and I bought some more clothes, and a mat for my house.

I asked Ruth if she had continued prostitution and she said no. When I asked why she said this boy had died in a car accident exactly two weeks later. She also said that her friend told her about HIV and that it is dangerous. Something tells me Ruth is not telling the whole truth, but it is her story and I have promised to keep it private from anyone in the village, so there is no way I can be sure. I gave her quite a few potatoes and two eggplants for telling me her story. I had the feeling she was not leaving until I gave her something, I am more than ok sharing some of my food with her. If even half of this story is true it is more than appalling. So many girls here are the victims of crimes and sexual crimes. I had learned of a cultural practice recently. When a girl starts her period she is seen as mature, but the family does not want to speak to her about sex, so they call in a man to take her somewhere private and have sex with her. The children are not told what is happening to them or even that is what sex is, they are just shown. I am not sure how common this practice still is, but it is sickening. Yesterday Mary and I spoke to two young girls about sex because she overheard one being teased by her older sister at the water pump, she was saying, "What are you doing? You are supposed to be matured, many of your friends have babies, you should be having sex." The girl is 15 and still in primary school. When I asked her if she has had sex Mary said, she may not know she has but there is a cultural practice here that happens when a girl reaches puberty. The girl did not admit to having had sex, but I can never know how much of the truth I am being told.

Tomorrow Mary and I are going to a nearby market to try to interview more prostitutes. The headteacher at Bilia secondary school told me many girls are absent on Wednesdays and he believes they go to the market to prostitute. I will see what I can uncover.

I love my girls Martha and Kate, I hope they will never have prostitution in their future. Living in a very poor place like Malawi has made their future very uncertain.