Meet Grace, but she could be any woman, anywhere.
Grace is 30 years old and living in Nairobi. Ever since she was a young girl, she believed marriage was something beautiful. She grew up watching her parents sit together every evening-her father laughing, her mother serving tea, and she would think “One day, I also want a happy home like this.” In church, she heard that marriage is holy, and her mother would preach the gospel of, “A woman is respected when she builds her home.”
Grace's "happily ever after."
So, when Grace met a charming, caring man, it felt like her dream had come true. He would tell her, “You’re my queen, no one can replace you.” He walked her home, carried her shopping, and called her every night just to say goodnight. Grace thought, “This is the love I prayed for.” So, when he proposed, she said yes with all her heart.
At first it was the little things.
But after the wedding, things started to change. At first it was the little things.
He told her, “Don’t wear that, a wife should be decent.” He kept checking her phone, asking, “Where are you? Who are you with? When will you be back?” Grace told herself it was love, and that he was just being protective.
Then came the insults.
“Stupid. Useless. Lazy. Good-for-nothing. Nobody will ever want you.”
Those words broke her inside, each insult cutting deeper than the last.
Then the slaps came.
Then the punches.
Grace cried herself to sleep through many nights, then woke up each morning and wore a smile.
Her husband had his struggles.
He grew up in a violent home where his father beat his mother. As such, violence was his normal. He was also jobless most of the time, frustrated with life. But instead of confronting his issues and pain, he unleashed it on Grace.
No one told her to leave.
For years, Grace stayed silent.
When she spoke up, her family told her, “Endure. Every marriage has challenges.”
Church elders said, “Pray harder, God will change him.”
No one told her to leave.
No one told her she deserved peace and safety.
Grace's Turning Point.
One night, he beat her until she collapsed and Grace only survived because a neighbour rushed her to the hospital. That was her turning point. Lying on that hospital bed, Grace thought of her daughter. She didn’t want her child growing up believing violence was normal, or that marriage meant living in fear.
Grace felt seen and believed.
At the hospital, she met a social worker who listened, really listened. For the first time, Grace felt seen and believed. The social worker connected her to a safe house where she began therapy, rebuilt her confidence, and learned her rights.
I survived so my daughter never has to.
Today, Grace speaks to other women in her community. She tells them,“Silence protects the abuser. Speaking out can save your life.”
She still carries scars, but they no longer define her. She says, “I survived so my daughter never has to.”
