Women must not resort to suicide as a way of dealing with mounting stress and the pain of divorce, said one woman during a meeting for women last Saturday.

The women met to share personal experiences, motivating and encouraging one another to open small businesses and dealing with the stress which comes with divorce. The event was held at the Makhado Show Grounds hall in Makhado (Louis Trichardt).

“I know what it feels to separate from the father of your children and the man you love,” said Mrs Sarah Thenga, who is also a fashion designer. “After I had separated with my husband, I was in great pain and did not know what to do. But I didn't succumb to frustration and dwell on the pain forever.”

Thenga explained how she started selling tomatoes and onions in the streets and the market places. She managed to take her three older children through university. She said that any woman who felt disadvantaged because the man as the sole breadwinner was gone, should consider finding other positive means of subsistence.

“Suicide has never been an answer to life's problems,” she said. “There are all kinds of small businesses which you can try to uplift your life.”

Thenga further indicated that it was always bad for couples to separate and that each divorce process was painful and distressing. “It leaves both partners with a lot of stress,” she said. “There are at least three families who reunited after one of our talks. All these couples had previously fought bitterly, but they realised that they were meant for each other and to raise their children with love and in a safe environment.”

Thenga is a woman who has been separated from her husband for 13 years.

Pastor Tshilidzi Nevhutanda told women to remain faithful to their husbands and raise their children in the fear and love of God. “This is the time for renovation of our being and character,” she said. “Stop crying and wipe away your tears. Love your kids equally, even when they don't show academic knowledge or excellence.” She advised parents never to disown their daughters because they fall pregnant at a young age. “Weren't we like them then?”