Tendai Rupapa — Empowerment champion First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday led a gender-based violence awareness campaign walkathon from the infamous Booster to Overspill Shopping Centre in the sprawling settlement of Epworth, promoting peace, love and harmony in families in the spirit of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence.
The Booster is a haven of prostitution as well as drug and substance abuse which the First Lady abhors, hence her intervention to curb vice.
The First Lady seeks to promote peaceful homes where couples live peacefully together raising their children in a dignified manner free of early child marriages, violence and drug and substance abuse.
During the walkathon, Dr Mnangagwa was joined by the United Nations family, diplomats, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, GBV survivors, churches and members of the community.
Gender-based violence remains a global issue, with statistics showing that one in every three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
This underscores the urgent need for effective strategies to combat the scourge.
Amai Mnangagwa unveiled a 575 national gender-based violence call centre in her office providing GBV victims and survivors with a solid care package.
The call centre is helping victims of GBV in a significant way.
Yesterday a GBV survivor shared the challenges she went through with her children at the hands of her then abusive husband.
She narrated how the First Lady's 575 GBV centre helped her.
First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa greets UN women country representative Ms Fatou Aminata Lo during a campaign against Gender Based Violence in Epworth yesterday.
"I would be bashed by my husband and together with the children we would seek refuge next door. Our neighbours were fed up because the abuse was an everyday thing and would no longer allow us in. Relatives would urge me to persevere saying that's what marriage encompassed. Ndaingonzi shingirira ndizvo zvinoita imba.
"My husband would come home in the night heavily intoxicated and pour buckets of water on me and the children. He would do this every day. He squandered all his earnings on liquor without caring to supply provisions for the home, nor did he pay school fees. I feared reporting him to the police because the community and relatives would turn against me vachiti ndakasungisa murume. This went on for a long time until I heard about the First Lady's 575 toll-free line. I called the line and was assisted instantly. They then linked me and my children to the Zimbabwe Republic Police Victim Friendly Unit where we got help through counselling until my husband stopped taking alcohol, thanks to the help we received. Nowadays we live peacefully and we no longer dread him. Through her Angel of Hope Foundation, the First Lady started a poultry project for me which is thriving. We now assist one another with my husband to fend for the family in peace and love," she said to applause.
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In her remarks, the First Lady said this year's theme highlights the urgent need to end gender-based violence through the implementation of the commitments made in Beijing in 1995.
"The 16 Days of activism against gender-based violence hold significant importance in our calendar of events. It's a global campaign aimed at raising awareness of the prevalence and impact of GBV at the community and national level and mobilising action to end violence against women and girls.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Zimbabwe continues to grapple with challenges of gender-based violence with statistics showing that one in every three women between the ages of 15 to 19 experience physical violence or sexual violence and that one woman is raped every one hour and 20 minutes. Zimbabwe is not isolated in this. Violence against women and girls remains the most widespread human rights violation in the whole world. It is disheartening to note that more women are victims of gender-based violence. These are the very people that families look up to for the provision of care services," she said.
GBV, the First Lady said, has a trickle-down effect on the well-being of the affected families.
Iyasa drama and dance group perform a play on the effects of gender based violence at the workplace depicting how females are subjected to indecent treatment during job interviews at a campaign organised by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa in Epworth yesterday.
"Let me take this opportunity to applaud the work that Government is doing in responding to gender-based violence through the enactment of supportive laws and policies that protect women and girls such as the Domestic Violence Act which aims to protect individuals from domestic violence and provide legal recourse for survivors. The mandatory sentencing of rape and aggravated indecent assault which aims to deter sexual violence through a minimum of 15 years prison sentence. Once you rape you are sentenced to 15 years in jail. It does not matter whether you have raped your own wife, if she doesn't want she doesn't want".
The First Lady highlighted laws that protected girls and women from abuse.
"The Marriages Act Chapter 5:17 of 2022 sets the minimum marriage age at 18, and the Education Act Chapter 2504 prohibits the expulsion of pregnant girls from schools. We have just closed schools and are learners here? You have started falling in love. The holidays have just begun and what will you be doing my children? I know you have planned naughtiness during the holiday asi ndinoti misikanzwa haina kunaka. You do things that we never did when we were young and in January only a few girls will go back to school as some would have fallen pregnant. You young girls can fall pregnant at a tender age so once you do that you give your parents challenges and the Ministry of Health because you will have complications while giving birth," she said.
Dr Mnangagwa highlighted some of the initiatives which her office was undertaking.
"My office is actively working with Government to complement its efforts in eliminating GBV. In the realisation that young women and girls are at risk of rape and GBV, I founded the AoHF (Angel of Hope Foundation) a non-profit organisation to provide physical space and a springboard upon which the vulnerable can be protected.
Iyasa drama and dance group perform a play on the effects of gender based violence during a campaign organised by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa in Epworth yesterday.
"Through a number of interventions, among them Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba programme, we have resuscitated a concept by engaging girls and boys separately and empowering them with information on sexual and reproductive health as well as raising their awareness on gender-based violence prevention and protection. This programme has gone a very long way in rebuilding families and communities and protecting and promoting the rights of the girl and boy child.
"What I am doing at my office is that I go out with the boys for seven days and camp with them where we will teach them many things. The way children behave shows the way parents live with their children and when we ask them, they blame parents who have no time with children. It is a reality that parents no longer have enough time with children thus contributing to the increase in teen pregnancies, child marriages and the erosion of our values and morals," she said.
The First Lady commended the UN Family for advocating for the end of GBV through its Unite by 2030 to End Violence Against Women initiative which calls for global action to increase awareness.
Furthermore, she applauded the UN country team for its immense contribution in complementing national efforts in fighting the scourge.
Speaking at the same event, United Nations Women country representative Ms Fatou Aminata Lo described the First Lady's programme as critical.
"I am pleased to be here in Epworth supporting the First Lady's noble initiative. It gives me great pleasure to join you today as we draw close to the end of the 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence. The issue of gender-based violence is a human rights violation, it's a very critical issue.
Part of the gathering that attended a campaign against gender based violence organised by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa in Epworth yesterday.
"Today (yesterday) also is the International Day of Human Rights and also marks the end of 16 days of activism so this is an auspicious day to be having this event and we really appreciate and thank the Government of Zimbabwe for the leadership and collaboration to address this issue," she said.
Gender Commission Chairperson, Mrs Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe said she felt deeply honoured to give solidarity remarks at the walk against gender-based violence.
"I want to sincerely thank the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa for spearheading this initiative. We want to particularly thank you Amai for the tremendous effort and robust programmes that your office is undertaking in raising awareness against this pandemic at both national and community and even in remote hard-to-reach areas.
"Your GBV call centre is one such initiative Amai. As a Commission, we recognise that gender-based violence is a persistent and pervasive issue affecting mainly women and girls but it also affects men. This is also confirmed by the disturbing statistics showing that one in every three women in Zimbabwe has experienced physical violence and one in four has faced sexual violence. These numbers are not just figures, they represent our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our friends who suffer in silence. Gender-based violence violates human rights, threatens public health and doubles as a barrier to social and economic development," she said.
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Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Hon Charles Tawengwa said the initiative compelled the nation to reflect not only on the progress made over nearly three decades but also on the work that still lies ahead in the unwavering fight against gender-based violence.
"Your Excellency, as we embark on this vital campaign, it is crucial that we examine the stark realities faced by women and girls. Recent statistics illustrate the urgent need for action; reports indicate that incidents of gender-based violence have reached alarming levels in the province. Furthermore, the statistic showed, is not just a number, it represents the pain, trauma, and lost potential of countless women and girls who have been affected by this scourge.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Gender Based Violence in the province is deeply intertwined with cultural, economic, and social factors. Key contributors include; patriarchal norms rooted in our cultural frameworks, and traditional views regarding gender roles that continue to perpetuate beliefs that justify violence against women and girls. This entrenched patriarchy hinders progress towards equality and without proper awareness, victims may not know where to seek help or how to advocate for their rights," he said.
Mrs Colette Mupesa from Epworth thanked the First Lady for her teachings.
"Our mother is Godsent. She has the heart of a real mother. She walked down the streets of Epworth educating people about the importance of observing peace. Epworth is awash with cases of prostitution, drug and substance abuse as well as gender-based violence hence the coming in of the First Lady with this walkathon was timely. What Amai did to us the children of Epworth today is worthy of praise. This walkathon was pregnant with lessons that build strong homes and we hope to put into practice what the mother of the nation was teaching. She spoke about the need to combat violence and find peaceful ways of conflict resolution. If our children grow up hearing such educative messages, we will be able to raise a peaceful generation which understands the need for peace at all times," she said.
Comedian Freddy Manjalima, popularly known as Kapfupi, and his crew staged a play warning men against bottling up, but to speak out against gender-based violence.
He encouraged men to report to the police or the First Lady's 575 Gender-based Violence toll-free line so that they get help.
Iyasa provided edutainment on the dangers of GBV.
"Say no to gender-based violence, stop it now, zvakwana," they said.
The Police band also entertained crowds.
