Sexual assault is a difficult topic to break. There are the tremor, humiliation, and distress of not being believed. This might be why lots of celebrities are courageously striding forward and sharing their sexual assault stories in an effort to make the subject easier to converse.
Namibian personality and actress Maria Nepembe this evening bravely shared two incidences where she was molested by stories from as early as five years old.
“He led me into the Mahangu field and told me to lie down. I was reluctant so he threatened to leave me in the field for the “okatana komiidja” to eat me if I didn’t let him touch me. I can also tell you about the time I was 17 and a trusted family friend tried to rape me. I begged him to stop and I cried out for help. I did everything I could to fight him off. When he would try to kiss me I bit his lips,” read the status.
Maria revealed in her status wanting to give in until she realized her strength and fought her perpetrator off.
“I was scratching his face, I was hitting him but he was just too strong. I lost my voice and I lost all my strength. I was at the verge of just letting him have his way. And then he pulled out his penis. It was this day I realized my strength. I reached down, grabbed this man’s ugly thing and I squeezed as hard as I could and dug my nails deep. He jumped off me and I managed to get away”.
The fitness star said that not everyone is as lucky as her as some are raped, left with diseases and others killed. It is for this reason that she and her best friend Dillish Mathews came up with the initiative to allow survivors a chance to speak up and heal.
“The truth is, women aren’t safe. ANYBODY can hurt us ANYWHERE and at ANYTIME. We are constantly living in fear. Something needs to change. Dillish Mathews and I are opening a dialogue. We want to meet up and talk. Let’s have open and honest discussions. Everybody is welcome, whether you were abused or affected or you just want to be part of the solution,” she said.
