I
stood at the entrance of the building for one minute just to reassure myself of
the reality of my new job. I felt this peaceful chilling breeze on my skin that
brought the sense of new beginning, happiness and the thought of why I deserve
to be here. I could not believe I was going to work! You know the feeling when
you are asked where you are working and you are proud to call your company’s
name. Yes, no more waking up in the morning confused of what to do because you
have ran out of options. My joy was seeing the relief on mum and siblings
faces. To them, the hope of living a better life has come.
I
walked with all pride into the building. The receptionist directed me to the HR
unit. I waited for a long time before the head of the unit told me I was to be
working directly with the MD. My heart dropped because I did not want to
be a failure because the MD was very mean to me during the interview. In his
own words '' I don't think you have enough experienceâ€. I braced myself up to
the challenge that I will prove him wrong. Thankfully my first week into the
job, he was on official trip to Japan.
The
week of grace was over meaning the MD was back. The hell I never thought existed
on earth except when you die started. He kept pilling different task on me,
probably to see if I would break down but I saw it as a challenge to improve my
skills. As if that was not enough, I started closing late. As long as he was
still in the office, I was not permitted to close for the day. I complained to
someone in HR, all I got was “he is the MD, he has the right to tell you when
to closeâ€.
With all the stress in my mind, my
consolation was my ability to provide the basic need for my family. Weekend was
the only time I had to spend with my siblings (because I work late). Sometimes
I wished the weekend should continue because with each Monday, I felt pain and
shock like the whole world was on me. I guess it was the fear of being anxious
of what the task of the day will be.
Just when I thought it won’t get any
worse than what I was facing, I received a mail from the MD that some
departments including me will be working half day on weekends. For the other
departments, I could understand why they needed to work weekends for 3 months.
This was in other to meet up with the deadline of changing our system. In my
case, there was a need to prepare all the report for stakeholders meeting which
holds every Tuesday and he wanted me to be the one planning the report. The
truth is that planning stakeholders report was not part of my job description
although I had an idea of how the report is prepared. On the brighter side, I
said to myself at least extra income via overtime.
One month had passed since I started
coming to the office at weekends. On Saturdays, I often try to resume early
(7am) so that I can close by 12noon. However, on Sundays, I resume after
service because that was the only convenient time for me.
On this very Sunday due to church
activities, I went to the office around 3pm. Many staff had gone home. It was
just me and two other staff members in the IT department. Around 5pm, the two
staff in IT department left but I kept working. At about 6pm, I decided I was
going home irrespective of any query I might get for not finishing the report.
Just As I was stepping out of the building, the MD drove in for the first time
without his driver. He asked if the report was ready, I replied almost. He
said, come in for 15mins and show me what you have done and I will continue
from where you stopped. I was happy 15mins is not bad I can spare that time.
The 15mins became 30mins and then one
hour. He order food for the both of us but I was not interested, all I wanted
was to go home. His office and mine had a frosted glass that separates us, so
you cannot really see or know who is inside. At this point, he started coming into
my office every 5-10 minutes to see if I was on track and each time he came, he
would be explaining to me how he wanted the report to be, I notice his left
hand was always on my shoulder. I tried as much as possible to adjust my body
so that his hand will go off my shoulder.
Finally by 8pm I was done. I
submitted it to him via mail. As I was
about to leave the office, NEPA took the light. Normally it takes about 1
minute or less for the security to switch to generator knowing we were still in
the office. After about 3 minutes, I
called the security unit and I was told the generator was refusing to start,
that they are trying to fix it. I passed the massage to My Boss and told him I
was leaving. Â As I made my way out, he
asked me to check that all light switches were off before leaving.
 I went department by department checking and
switching off the lights. I was at HR department about to turn off the switch
when I felt two hands grabbing me, turning to see who it was, alas! my MD, I
quickly asked him to put me down. The struggle and screaming were endless until
he succeeded. I did not go to work for one week. I called to say I was sick. I
was determined to report him, but the question was to who? No one will believe
me, I might even get sacked. My mum noticed I was not ok, all I could do was to
lie that it was malaria. I resumed work with the hope of filing my case but I
needed a witness. I remembered seeing the security man from a distance standing
behind a door as I cried and left the office that night, although he pretended
not to have seen me. At lunchtime, I went to see him and I asked if he saw
anything that happened the previous Sunday, all he said was “Madam I beg just
forget about that day and I no wan lose my jobâ€. Feeling miserable, I confided
to a trusted staff member but all I got was the same reply. Looking back from where
I was coming from and what my family had been through and the better life they
were having now, I kept silent with shame. I continued my job as if nothing had
happened. Six month after that incident, the MD sent in resignation letter. I
thought to myself, this was the best opportunity to arrest him now that he is
no longer with the company. Every attempt I made was futile. The police said I
had no concrete evidence and I did not have enough money to pay a good lawyer.
It is over five years now, and I can
tell you that the circle still exists. Where newly employed (men and ladies)
staff are been abused and no one is speaking out because no one wants to lose
their job in this harsh economy. The last time I tried to defend a young Lady
who was abused, I almost got sacked for it. To tell you the truth, I feel
disgusted that I am still working with company but thankfully, I will be
leaving soon.
The sad thing is that sexual abuse is
against my company’s code of ethics and there are consequences for anyone that
is caught but the truth is that, no one is willing to report and even when you
try to push, you might get booted out of the organisation. One day I will surely fight back and I pray
this corrupt system stops.
I am grateful to the owners of this
forum for creating a platform like this.
641 days ago
What a shame. This is what we women go true everyday and no one is speaking about it. If i were you, i would never have given up. It is never too late to pursue the case if you want to.
641 days ago
11
Thanks for sharing your story. I have a friend who is going through the same situation but she won't speak out. I do not blame her, it is this sheet society I blame. if we all learn to be brave and forget what the society will say, justice will be given to all rape victims.
639 days ago
8
Women should speak out no matter the level of threat they face. If they keep bottling up they will keep being victimised
587 days ago
4
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