26 Nov 2013

The success of eliminating all forms of gender based violence depends on the individual, said Ms Connie Nshimwe of Voice of Women Centre.

Speaking during a workshop on gender based violence in Mahalapye recently, the coordinator of the centre, Ms Nshimwe urged every individual to be committed to making a difference, saying just like the HIV scourge, gender based violence affected everyone.

She called on Mahalapye stakeholders to collaborate and deal with gender issues on the ground and urged all to report all forms of gender violence to relevant authorities so as to attain a society that would be free from such violence.

Ms Nshimwe also encouraged all to freely talk about gender based violence issues, saying everyone had power within themselves to meaningfully contribute to the fight against the violence.

She stated that the issue of cultural norms was still prevalent as men continued to suppress women and deprive them of making certain decisions at the authoritative level.

Ms Nshimwe also expressed concern that institutions that dealt with gender issues in the district were inaudible and not well known and therefore urged them to start “waking up” to put in place the survival skills and further advocated for the strengthening of referral systems.

She called for a revival of committees, stating that gender issues cannot be left to authorities such as police, social workers, chiefs and NGOs only but, that individuals should mainstream gender into their activities regardless of constraints in budgets.

She called for public education to empower every individual and advocated for the setup of institutions and facilities that would accommodate such gender based violence challenges.

Participants at the workshop said they would visit schools and churches as a way forward and also urged for the formulation of policies. The Village Development Committee member for Botalathoma ward, Mr Goabaone Mompati argued that realize gender equality, there should be a change of mindset of the girl child, saying it is for that reason that it seems women are usually victims of gender based violence.

Mr Mompati argued that the girl child is often made to be dependent, saying that not empowering the girl child makes them vulnerable. He called for right statutes to be put in place, and it is only when that has happened that women would find themselves in influential positions of power.

He also spoke against women who have a “pull her down” syndrome against other women and urged that women to unite in order to uplift others, saying with that, they will be able to have a voice in policy making decisions for the development of the country.

“Government must also ensure that women are made part of decision making, even traditional structures should comply. In churches around Mahalapye, most of the prophets are male and therefore, I urge women to realize their role in the church as well” he stated.

Mr Mompati said the women are in the majority yet there are in the minority when it comes to positions of authority and thus urged them to empower themselves through education.

The workshop was aimed at sensitising and preparing the district for the upcoming 16 days of activism. Ends