Zomba District Council commemorated 16 days of activism under the theme ‘United to End Violence Against Women and Men in Zomba’.
Speaking during the campaign at Thondwe Village Polytechnic in Zomba, Vice Chairperson for Zomba District Council, Evalista Kalimbuka, said GBV could be prevented if traditional leaders and faith leaders join hands to check the malpractice by condemning raising awareness among subjects faithful to the evils of GBV and it’s a negative impact.
She, therefore, called on the leaders to refer perpetrators of GBV to police and civil society organisations for justice.
Councillor Kalimbuka observed that there is also psychological torture that is in the form of GBV, saying this needs to be checked as most women and men suffer in silence.
“This is the day we need to deeply reflect GBV, We need to take part to end GBV,” she said.
District Gender Officer in Zomba, Ruperth Kasendero, said GBV that is related to sex are in many forms and child marriages are one of them.
He said property grabbing is another form of GBV that needs to be looked into before it goes out of hand in Zomba, observing that cases of property grabbing are becoming common in the district.
Kasendero, therefore, called for collective responsibility to end GBV as opposed to leaving the task of fighting against the vice to the Gender Office only.
He said his office intends to facilitate mobile courts to allow people in the community to know the criminality of GBV and the sentences that are given to perpetrators of GBV.
Representative of Zomba-based Civil Society Organisations, Newton Sindo said GBV affects development at the household level if it tacentrenter stage
He warned men who abandoned children with no support, saying such men needed to be brought before justice for leaving the responsibility to women on their own.
Future Vision Ministry International. Emmanuel International, Sparkle Foundation, Her Liberty, Oxfam Malawi, TIPOLISO, USAID, Creccom, and Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada are some of the organisations that supported the event at Thondwe Village Polytechnic.
