adminTalent Simbi Post Correspondent
CHITSANZA Development Association Last Friday convened with other partners in Nyanga District at Nyamhuka Primary School to celebrate their belated 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence amid revelations that GBV cases were on the increase in the resort town.
The 16 days are commemorated from November 25 to 10 December worldwide.
CHIDA director Mrs Sedze said they were prepared to fight GBV in order to promote development.
“GBV is a major hindrance to a sustainable living of women and children politically, economically and socially, so that’s why we are celebrating the 16 days of activism against GBV. If we stand up and speak in one voice we will be heard,” she said.
The District Administrator, Miss Boozai, encouraged both men and women to guard against gender based violence.
She, however, bemoaned the ever-increasing cases of GBV in the district.
According to police statistics presented at the celebrations, rape cases involving juveniles had increased by 17 percent, adult rape cases decreased by 28 percent whilst rape cases involving minors had increased by 35 percent between January 2013 and November 2014.
Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development representative Mr Sithole was, however, positive of a decrease in Gender Based Violence Cases being reported.
“The increasing numbers of cases being reported could be an indicator that people are now attending awareness programs. If there were no or few cases reported, that could have indicated that there were no GBV in the society but rather lack of information on how to handle such scenarios”, he said.
Chief Hata, who graced the occasion, appreciated the work being done by CHIDA and other partners in promoting a peaceful society.
“These women are even making our work easier by creating awareness on the consequences of GBV. Even the dependent syndrome that most women used to have on their husbands is slowly fading away as they are now being taught to run various income generating projects like piggery and gardening. All that culminates into creating a peaceful society,” said chief Hata.
CHIDA is a community based organization that focuses mainly on women’s social, political and economic emancipation and was founded in 2008 by Mrs Sedze in Sedze communal areas.
The partners who took part in the celebrations were FACT, Word Vision, Camfed, Nyanga community Development Trust, Medicenes San Frontiers (MSF) and the Ministry of Women, Gender and Community development.
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