A Mount Ayliff-born author, Phumela Jakuja, 29, has written an engrossing and insightful book, to be published in four volumes, on the much talked-about custom of ukuthwala.
Ukuthwala, a practice that is prevalent in Pondoland towns such as Flagstaff, Lusikisiki, Port St Johns and Libode, is when young girls, some as young as 13, are abducted and forced to marry, usually to much older men.
In her series written in Xhosa and titled Ndandingenje Ndenziwa Nguwe (I was not like this, I was made by you) she tells the story of a 15-year-old rape victim forced to marry her rapist, a much older man.
Told in four installations, with the first published last month and the second due in August, the book answers many of the questions likely to be asked about the custom.
Speaking about the book, Jakuja said it was based on the true story of a woman, given the fictional name Sinothando Xawu, she met in Mzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal, who was forced to marry the man who raped her.
“After 15 years of marriage, the two live happily in their marriage and have been blessed with four children,” she said.
Jakuja said what made the story in her book different from other stories of ukuthwala is that “you read the story as told by a victim of ukuthwala. You get first-hand information straight from the horse’s mouth”.
She said she started writing the book as a “diary” on Facebook, where she received support from those who read it.
“The story can make you angry, sad, cry, laugh and be in love,” she said.
“Since the custom has been made a crime, I want people to read a positive story that arose from a bad situation,” she said.
Jakuja said her book had received positive feedback from all parts of the Eastern Cape. “I want to encourage those who are in a bad situation . Things may start bad for them but in the end God knows how he will solve their problems,” she said.
She said people interested in getting a copy of the book could email her at memezelapress@gmail.com..