Feature : A reformed prostitute tells of how she regained her dignity

Rape, betrayal, violence and self-hate, were as common as breakfast in Sifa Uwamahoro’s childhood, until she began her recovery process. In a blink of an eye, her innocence was forever lost yet, her name constantly reminded her of who she was. The ordeals she encountered in the past seven years, she practiced as a sex-worker, were tough but she says, it was her inner being that provided the strength, to carry on and leave her dark past behind. Like Rahab, the renowned Bible harlot at Jericho who saved her family from destruction, Sifa Uwamahoro, now 20 years old, saved her life from prostitution with one bold step. Horrible beginnings Uwamahoro thought she had lost it all, when her parents died. At the age of 9 years, Uwamahoro was taken under the roof of her uncle who lived in Mururu Sector, Rusizi Disctrict, in Rwanda’s Western Province. Besides the misery of being an orphan, her childhood was lost to sexual abuse. “My uncle ‘deflowered’ me, he kept warning me that if I revealed his sexual abuse, I would be the one who got disgraced and not him, since he would deny the secret,” said Uwamahoro. After six months of daily molestation, she was guilty and hated herself for what she had become. Sooner than later, her uncle died leaving her alone at home with a multitude of unanswered questions. She did not know where to go next especially with the fact that she did not consider herself a child anymore. “I carried myself as a woman, even though I had no breasts at all. I thought everyone who had sexual intercourse, no matter their age, was a woman,” she explained. Uwamahoro relocated to Bugarama, a Rwandan suburb next to the Burundi border. While there, she exchanged her body for petty cash. Older and mature men regarded her as a child, and Uwamahoro slept with boys who were slightly older than her to earn a few bucks for food.“I earned Rwf300 per day, and I used it very sparingly,” said Uwamahoro. At 15 years, Uwamahoro was known by the men in Bugarama, popular at the local hotels and had the job description of, ‘Prostitute’. Eventually, Bugarama had become a small town for her, so she migrated to Kamembe town for greener pastures. Perilous day work Uwanmahoro rented a one-roomed house in Cite—a settlement in Kamembe and she needed to work hard to pay off her bills. To accomplish her nocturnal duties, she needed to sleep all day. Uwamahoro hunted for clients from or waited for them by the roadside. On a lucky night, she earned Rwf3000 and on a bad day she made nothing. “Some men would use me and pay back with punches, hit me on the ground and call me all sorts of names, saying that I was a prostitute. Others would beg me to offer my body on credit and when I refused, they would use force,” said Uwamahoro. There were times when Uwamahoro wondered whether she would ever be a normal girl, raise a family and get a husband one day. Her need for money and her bad reputation were of no help, she said. Her reformation Uwamahoro said that her restoration begun when a violent experience with one customer snapped sense into her. “He never wanted to use protection, and when I stopped him, he beat me up, and went ahead and raped me,” she recalls. She desperately wanted to report the case but she barely knew who the man was, since it was dark and she did not see his face. After that day, she could not agree more that her lifestyle was a wreck. ‘What was there to show for her seven years as a prostitute anyway?’ she thought. From her scanty savings, she began a small business dealing in vegetables. “This business has brought me more satisfaction than prostitution,” she said. She jump-started her business by purchasing and selling tomatoes, but it has caught up quickly, she supplies a variety of fresh vegetables such as onions, lettuce, greens, green pepper among others. Uwamahoro boasts of regaining her self-respect, dignity and personal integrity. “My mother always wanted me to be a teacher. I am already thinking of going back to school, in case anyone lets me in so that I can achieve that goal,” she happily said. That is not all, she has gone ahead to advocate for prostitutes to leave the streets and choose another way of life. Claudine Mujawase, is a former prostitute who was talked out of prostitution by Uwamahora.“When I tested HIV positive, Uwamahoro advised me to quit so that I could live a healthier life for the rest of my days on earth,” Mujawase said. Uwamahoro’s neighbour Apolline Muragwe said, “Sifa is a living evidence of the two sides of human nature; you can’t tell she was that smoking hot prostitute we once knew. She is now a fully grown woman and responsible.” “Prostitution only comes with misery and slavery and only the strong in mind and willpower can always reform,” Uwamahoro said. lillianean@yahoo.com