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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
ZIMDANCEHALL star Enzo Ishall this past week decided to call it quits on his marriage citing abuse by his estranged wife.

His decision has split public opinion.

Enzo Ishall’s case has the hallmark of what to do when one is physically abused by their spouse, just leave.

According to media reports last year, Enzo was bashed by his wife for promoting his 50 Magate video on his WhatsApp status and the images had rump wiggling women.

This did not go down well with his wife who decided to put him in his place by giving him a beating. According to reports Enzo took his beating like a man, whatever that means.

It was also revealed that he was being “kept” by his wife before his sudden rise to fame and she had started wearing the trousers in the union.

But the reasons that he left his wife were the ones that people should look into as he made some strong allegations.

Apart from his wife allegedly being physically abusive (we can’t take his word for it), she was according to Enzo “disrespectful, uncaring, did not want to cook for him, unfaithful and denied him his conjugal rights.”

As such he decided he has had enough, and moved back to the safe refuge of his mother’s house while he contemplates his next move.

A right move for anyone who finds themselves in such a situation as your life and safety is more important than companionship from someone who constantly abuses you.

However, society is not forgiving or empathetic as shown by level of ridicule that people can spew on a victim of abuse to make them feel ashamed of what happened to them as if it’s their fault.

Enzo was laughed at with people saying a grown man like him was beaten up by his wife and then seeking asylum at his mommy’s house.

Enzo Ishall is a case of role reversal, where he is the victim of abuse by a wife, when often it’s men who are perpetrators.

He was the person in the relationship who wasn’t working and the woman was providing for him and stayed in the relationship because it seemed that he had nowhere to go.

Again the role reversal continued when Enzo started getting popular his wife got more jealous and the abuse turned up a notch, according to close sources, that is.

Those same sources, seem to know that someone is constantly being abused but do not at one time report the matter to the police, or even to the person’s parent or elder.

Imagine if Enzo was the one who bashed his wife, there would be a huge outcry from all corners of the country.

The silence from people is very deafening. Instead, Enzo is accused of growing a big head as his new found fame has made him dump someone who supported him when he had nothing.

It’s as if he should stay, no matter how toxic the relationship has become in order to thank his wife for sticking it out with him.

But there is something that some people overlooked; it seems that Enzo was ‘illegally’ living with his wife.

He had not paid bride price.

Some feel that she was justified that when he has found his feet it was time that she demanded the dues that were due to her parents.

That is one of the reasons that his wife has turned violent according to his account.

Denying him conjugal rights was part of the bargain in order to force Enzo to comply with societal and traditional rites in culture.

But that does not overshadow the fact that there was a series of abuse in the relationship that is not being addressed.

And Enzo comes out as an angel who is blameless for the disintegration of the relationship and his wife, is this marauding man basher.

There is more to this story and the day his wife opens his mouth and tells Zimbabwe her side of the story will be the day that people will understand better the intricacies of this relationship and what led her to beat him.

Also she should answer as to how many times did she give Enzo a hiding and either substantiate or refute the allegations that Enzo laid out against her.

And this case will go to the public court (as it has not been reported to the police like many of the like) where fans and interested people will be prosecutor, defence lawyer and judge for themselves.

As society we continually turn a blind eye to abuse and only open up when the person is either dead or somehow they escape from the clutches of the abuse.

And the reason why all this time that Enzo has been apparently abused he did not report it to the police shows that as a country we are still far from eradicating the scourge.