Freeman gives the Trophy to women in abusive marriages

By Lloyd Rabaya

In a world where Gender Based Violence (GBV) seems insurmountable, Freeman HKD’s willpower to fight the cancer is an exertion that cannot be overlooked.

In Zimbabwean society, when women are being abused by their partners, they are told to endure no matter how bad the abuse is, especially when they have children together.

Culture and religion are some of the causes of GBV in Zimbabwe where one in three women between 15 and 49 years, has experienced a form of abuse.

On his latest offering, Trophy album, in a song titled Tsiva, a Shona word for boxing, Freeman reveals how women endure physical abuse in their marriages, but in the end they decide to make the wisest decision, to leave.

Using his lyrical heroism, Freeman reveals the effects of GBV on women as well as the children, especially when the husband is not bringing anything to the table. The woman will carry the burden of fending for the family.

“Ndanzwa nemambama zvese nendare, kana vana vako havachafare. Inga ndinomukira kuenda kuMbare, kuenda kunohodha nebhizautare.
Asi iwe uri gombiro, haukwanise kuisa sadza mundiro. Chaunokwanisa kungondirova pamadiro, uchiswera wakangotsamira piro (pillow),” he sings.

Sang in first-narration, the soothing song starts by the woman saying she is leaving before she starts lamenting about the hell she has been enduring for a while.

The catchy chorus, where the woman is saying she is leaving, also paints a picture where the woman is telling her aunty about the abuse her husband does to her.

In the song, Freeman also points out how abusive husbands will also be trying to cover for their wrong doings, hence beating their wives as a way of silencing them, and urges women to leave such toxic marriages because the more the woman tries to endure, the worse the abuse gets.

With his influence on and off the stage, Freeman’s message of ending women abuse will surely reach a wider audience. Freeman also featured on a star-studded collaboration on the “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” campaign song which featured Winky D, Ammara Brown, Sandra Ndebele, Holy Ten and Hwabaraty.