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An elderly woman has shared her life’s highs, lows, and lessons learned along the way.
Veronica Okure was married off at a young age, a time when girls’ education was not prioritized. She mentioned that she only attended school up to Class Three before leaving to stay at home and take care of household chores.
Speaking to UPEPO.co.ke, Okure, who was born in Siaya County, revealed that she was married off as a young girl.
“My father gave me away for some cows and goats. I didn’t have a say in it, and I certainly didn’t want to get married at such a young age,” she recounted. “Being a wife to someone who didn’t care much for me was difficult. I was young, and he had other women,” Okure recalled.
She mentioned that her first marriage ended because she couldn’t conceive, which greatly troubled her husband.
The 70-year-old grandmother expressed deep sadness over her inability to have children in her various relationships and marriages.
“I have been married to 20 different men. Some relationships lasted for months, others for weeks, and some for years. Throughout, the constant issue was my inability to conceive,” she shared. “I moved from one man to another because I never had a child, so there was nothing holding me back.”
“I never entered relationships with men for money or pleasure; it was always for companionship. However, my inability to bear children was always a recurring issue,” she reflected.
The Nairobi grandmother shared that she spent a lot of time in clubs with men, a decision she now regrets.
She mentioned that one consequence of her carefree lifestyle was contracting HIV, which significantly impacted her health.
The reason behind the husband’s decision to leave Catherine Moraa, a Kisii woman, was her giving birth to only daughters.
Despite having triplets, all girls, Moraa found herself in the position of both father and mother after her husband abandoned her in the hospital immediately after the delivery.
He expressed a desire for a son, and when Moraa gave birth to another girl, he chose to leave her.
