14 Jan 2016

The Men Sector will launch a new programme dubbed: Men in the Kitchen in Shakawe in the Okavango Sub-district.

The programme would be targeting boys aged 15 to 20 years.

The Men Sector had realised that majority of gender-based violence perpetrators were men, therefore they decided to focus on boys as potential perpetrators.

In an interview Men Sector programme officer, Mr Budani Madandume, said the concept was adopted from their development partners in Mozambique.

However, he pointed out that the sector would implement the concept in a way that suits Botswana culture.

He further said their aim was to change young boy’s lives as well as to impact their upbringing by teaching them their culture and domestic chores that involved cooking, washing and others

Mr Madandume explained that the purpose behind this programme was to train young boys on how to live with a woman at a tender age as well as to raise the gender norms and create new norms that would take the country somewhere.

He further said the programme would help address adolescents to appreciate domestic chores done by girls.

The programme officer pointed out that they chose to launch the programme in Okavango due to a number of reasons at hand.

Mr Madandume explained that statistics indicated that gender based violence was rife in Okavango area.

He further emphasised that Shakawe was far and was a center of areas not easily accessible.

Mr Madandume noted that areas in the Okavango Sub-district did have access to organisations that dealt with issues of gender based violence on daily bases as compared to Maun community who have Women Against Rape (WAR).

 He said the national launch would be in Shakawe and subsequently the programme would be rolled out to other areas such as Charleshill as a way of intensifying their program. Ends