At the end of each working day, ELIAS MAHACHI’s household was apprehensive as his family knew he was now on his way home. “I was renowned for gender-based violence in my community. I would beat my wives occasionally and for no good reason,”  Elias shares. Now in his fourth marriage, he looks back on his life choices to paint an image of the man he once was, “I was a harsh and violent family man who resolved small misunderstandings with a slap across the face without weighing the main cause of it.”

His physical advantage as a man was not enough, “I believed that as the head of the family, the opinions of a woman, ‘my wives,’ should never override mine. As an alcoholic, I carried grievances from the bar. I offloaded them on my wife at home even when she had never wronged me,” a bold admission from Elias from Shonhiwa village, Cluster 1, Buhera district in Zimbabwe.

Elias’ confession is not unique; however, it takes a brave and transformed man to acknowledge alternative ways to resolve conflicts. Following his participation in ‘Training for Transformation (TfT)’ delivered 2022, Elias volunteered for the ‘Feedback between leaders and fellow community members’ session. The session is anchored on the reciprocity of feedback, where community members share comments and observations about their day-to-day interactions with their leaders. In the community, Elias’ name became synonymous with gender-based violence and mayhem influenced by his low social capital. He emphasizes, “I have changed. I now spend most of my time working for my family’s survival. The community is shocked to see that I no longer indulge in acts of violence besides the fact that I am human; I have a temper sometimes.”

Having gone through the community visioning process for his community, he attended complementary sessions on Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion – Social Analysis and Action (GEDI-SAA) and other Takunda-led interventions where violence was consistently underscored as an enemy of successful development. During feedback after participating in the Training for Transformation, Elias shared, and the participating community members unanimously agreed that “At home, my children do not suffer emotionally, and when they see me because there is now peace, love, and happiness at home. They see a friend and a father.” He has gone on to support his wife to participate in a village savings and loans and jointly attend Takunda and other partner sessions so that we grow in together while helping each other to take good care of the children.”

As the Vice-Chairperson of Ward community-led monitoring and evaluation committee (CLM & E), the community is inspired by the prospects of transformation in their locale under his leadership. “I am a confident leader, and I encourage others to work hard rather than waste time and energy in violence. I am a farmer, I am a gender champion, I am a vice-chair, and I am happy.”