27 Nov 2013

Emang Basadi has continued to promote principles of equality, justice and peace.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop in Francistown on November 25, the organisation’s executive director, Ms Ida Mokereitane said they aimed to enhance capacity of service providers in gender violence and legal education.

She said the empowerment workshop would assist in changing the opinions of some service providers towards gender based violence and for them to see it as a national issue.

Ms Mokereitane said the workshop would also help stakeholders such as social workers, police, dikgosi, teachers, nurses, NGOs, ward development committees and PTAs to understand customary law.

She said Emang Basadi had come up with five projects, namely political education, legal aid and counselling centre, Emang Basetsana, information, documentation and resource centre and the women economic empowerment. She explained that the political education project trained women who aspired to contest elections to boost their self-esteem when they faced their male counterparts.

Ms Mokereitane, however, said the political education project was negatively impacted as external donors had stopped assistance. She said Emang Basetsana empowered the youth who were mostly affected by passion killings.

One of the participants, Ms Gaolape Makgarapa of Matshelo Community Development Association (MCDA) appealed to Emang Basadi to intervene in issues where sex workers were abused by their clients. She said when such incidents occurred, they had nowhere to report as their business was considered illegal.

Ms Kolobetso Kgangkenna of Ghetto Artists said since women organisation such as Emang Basadi started operating, abuse took another turn leading to increased incidents of passion killings.

Monarch Customary Court president, Kgosi Gunny Moses noted that there was need for organisations such Emang Basadi to bring both men and women under one roof and sensitise them on issues of gender based violence. ends