With the support of UNICEF, Sonke and People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) have started working in the Limpopo town of Musina near the Zimbabwe border to address the very high-levels of violence against women and children (especially migrants) in the area. Musina is characterized by a huge number of migrants – particularly vulnerable and mobile populations from Zimbabwe, with approximately 1,800-2,000 Zimbabwean asylum seekers crossing the border legally and illegally each day. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation at border crossings at the hands of immigration officials, soldiers, police, and other criminal gangs which roam these areas.
The joint project aims:
to increase awareness around GBV and HIV,
assist survivors of sexual abuse and gender-based violence to have improved access to women-centred, responsive services, and
to increase men and boy’s involvement in activities to prevent violence against women and the spread of HIV.
The project is also challenging xenophobia,
working to strengthen community cohesion and
promoting human rights (especially those of migrants and asylum seekers).
Sonke is working with men from a number of community groups in Musina to develop their capacity to be advocates and activists in efforts to:
eliminate violence against women and children,
to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS and
to promote health, care and support for orphans and vulnerable children.
We will also extend the programme to reach men in the transport industry by working with taxi drivers and truckers in Musina and at the border area.
Other stakeholders working in Musina including Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Save the Children UK have already started mobilizing boys and men living in the streets with the aim:
to raise public awareness and
address issues around water borne diseases, HIV/AIDS, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
Sonke and POWA are also working to protect the many unaccompanied minors crossing the border from exploitation.
This is done through a variety of activities including; working with stakeholders through the organisation of community events, developing educational materials, and engaging in community mobilisation using the arts and other community events to stimulate discussions about human rights and the prevention of GBV. Sonke is specifically working with boys at the URC Boys’ Shelter getting them to share their personal experiences and empowering them to stand up against violence.
Commenting on the importance of working with boys in the area, Vusi Cebekhulu (the One Man Can coordinator working in Musina) notes, “One of the saddening phenomenon in Musina and nearby Beitbridge is that boys who are aged between 12 and 18 are sexually active, and already they are indulging in sexual relationships with commercial sex workers.” The levels of sexual activity and unprotected sex in the area are evidenced by the number of STIs reported to and treated by MSF.
Vusi also added saying, “A lot of boys are aware of the safer sex methods including condom usage, but the socialization process and peer excitement play a huge role in their decision-making processes”. When asked, the boys said that “women refuse to use condoms, and it’s not easy to think about condoms when the penis is erected”.
On 25 November, Sonke and POWA unveiled a mural to mark the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. The mural was designed and painted by the numerous adults and children who have participated in OMC and POWA workshops since September. The paintings denounce acts of violence against women and children and aim to educate the community about HIV/AIDS.
The event was held at Eric Louw High School and included a poetry performance by migrant members of the community. More than 200 community members attended the event, including the Acting Musina municipality manager, Mr Pedro Nndwa, and a representative of the Department of Education, Dr N.S Phaswana.
Although the problems in the Musina area are vast, this project has the potential to make a lasting difference in the area. The involvement of government departments and international agencies in the area are strengthening the programme, and comments from participants in the workshops indicate that the attitudes of the men involved are changing: “My dad used to beat my mother, and I thought it was okay, but today I can see it destroys families”.
Author: Vusi Cebekhulu and Helen Alexander
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Women protest against Zimbabwe law review bias
Zimbabwe's troubled constitution making process has hit another snag after women threatened to disrupt the exercise arguing that it is biased towards men.
Women from across the political divide say they are not happy that the management of the committee in charge of Zimbabwe's second attempt to draft a new constitution since independence in 1980 is led by men.
The three principals in the unity government President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara co chair the management committee of the constitution making process.
Below them is a Parliamentary Select Committee also co-chaired by male legislators from the three parties that make up the unity government.
The disgruntled women almost disrupted a training workshop for the more than 600 people, who will make up the outreach teams that were being deployed on Thursday.
We call upon the co-chairpersons to redress the situation before of the beginning of the outreach programme by co-opting women into different committees to address gender parity, said Women's Affairs, Gender and Employment Development Minister Olivia Muchena after the protests.
Zimbabwe has already ratified the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and this should be respected. There was along stand off as male delegates objected to the issues raised by the women activists.
But the co-chairperson of the Constitution Select Committee Mr Douglas Mwonzora said women concerns would be taken on board.
"We are going to attend to that issue because its a genuine issue which all stakeholders should address. We are going to engage political parties and the Management Committee over that matter.
"This is because the issue of women has potential budgetary implications on our side if we ignore them," he said.
Zimbabwe's constitution making process is already behind schedule by more than six months because of unending squabbles in the unity government.
If the outreach programme to gather people's views is successfully concluded in 65 days, the draft would be put to a referendum by October.
It would then be sent to parliament for ratification, which might lead to fresh elections.
Zimbabwe currently uses a constitution that was crafted by its former coloniser, Britain during talks that led to its independence in 1980 and it has been amended 19 times.
By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION CorrespondentPosted Thursday, January 14 2010 at 17:51
HARARE
Women from across the political divide say they are not happy that the management of the committee in charge of Zimbabwe's second attempt to draft a new constitution since independence in 1980 is led by men.
The three principals in the unity government President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara co chair the management committee of the constitution making process.
Below them is a Parliamentary Select Committee also co-chaired by male legislators from the three parties that make up the unity government.
The disgruntled women almost disrupted a training workshop for the more than 600 people, who will make up the outreach teams that were being deployed on Thursday.
We call upon the co-chairpersons to redress the situation before of the beginning of the outreach programme by co-opting women into different committees to address gender parity, said Women's Affairs, Gender and Employment Development Minister Olivia Muchena after the protests.
Zimbabwe has already ratified the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and this should be respected. There was along stand off as male delegates objected to the issues raised by the women activists.
But the co-chairperson of the Constitution Select Committee Mr Douglas Mwonzora said women concerns would be taken on board.
"We are going to attend to that issue because its a genuine issue which all stakeholders should address. We are going to engage political parties and the Management Committee over that matter.
"This is because the issue of women has potential budgetary implications on our side if we ignore them," he said.
Zimbabwe's constitution making process is already behind schedule by more than six months because of unending squabbles in the unity government.
If the outreach programme to gather people's views is successfully concluded in 65 days, the draft would be put to a referendum by October.
It would then be sent to parliament for ratification, which might lead to fresh elections.
Zimbabwe currently uses a constitution that was crafted by its former coloniser, Britain during talks that led to its independence in 1980 and it has been amended 19 times.
By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION CorrespondentPosted Thursday, January 14 2010 at 17:51
HARARE
ZIMBABWE: Training Teachers to Cope with HIV-positive Students
Eleven-year-old Memory’s grandmother wanted her to drop out of school because she is not going to live long enough to complete her studies. And the ridicule and stigma Memory endures at school because of her HIV status does not make her education seem worthwhile. Especially since this ridicule comes from her teacher.
In a country where aids agencies estimate 120,000 children are HIV-positive, school teachers are finding themselves increasingly in the frontline of the epidemic.
The National AIDS Council recently carried out a study that found "teachers had not received enough HIV/ART education to carry out their supportive role in paediatric and adolescent care and support".
And from Memory’s situation it is clear that teachers are ill-equipped to cope with the number of HIV-positive children in schools.
Mbuya Tapera, Memory’s grandmother, listens daily as her grandchild relates how she has been ill-treated by her teacher. "Her teacher believes she is wasting time by coming to school when it is obvious she will die before she completes her studies." "I think she is better off at home than at school," says Tapera.
But the situation in the country’s schools has not gone unnoticed.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Harare Cluster office partnered with the ministry of higher and tertiary education to develop an HIV/AIDS manual for teachers.
The manual will be incorporated into the curriculum at teacher’s training colleges from Jan 11, the start of the new academic year.
The manual will also be distributed to teachers who are already practicing. Special courses and workshops will also be held for those teachers already practicing.
"The role of the teacher in the fight against HIV/AIDS among other social development issues cannot be overly emphasised," says higher and tertiary education permanent secretary, Dr Washington Mbizvo.
He says the ministry believes teachers have the ability to develop the intellectual and spiritual capacity of the child. "It is important to enhance teacher education as a means of attaining an HIV/AIDS-free society. We have to ensure that all teachers are grounded in their knowledge of HIV/AIDS," says Mbizvo.
The director and resident representative of UNESCO, Soo Hyang Choi, says the development of the manual was influenced by a realisation that the involvement of teachers would boost the fight against HIV.
"Education can no longer be business as usual, teachers have to acquire adequate skills to be able to address these children in a sensitive and informed manner," said Choi.
Tapera agrees. "These teachers have no understanding whatsoever about HIV. For them whoever has the virus has been sentenced to death. It seems they do not believe that one can live a normal life with it. And it seems they just do not care to listen to some of us," added Tapera.
Memory tested positive in 2005, the year she started primary school. Tapera and other relatives got assistance from community support groups which helped Memory to accept her status and believe that she can still have a good quality of life
"When she went to school, we all believed school was the best place for her," Tapera says. But things have changed. Now everyone at the school knows that Memo is positive, and that her mother died of an AIDS-related illness. "All this is because of her teacher who makes it appear like Memory committed a serious crime," Tapera says.
Other students across the country have also experienced this stigma from their teachers.
Because of the lack of support at their school a group of HIV-positive youngsters in Gwanda, the provincial capital for Matabeleland South, grouped together and formed their own support group. Despite their knowledge about the virus they are not allowed to speak publically to other students at school about issues surrounding HIV.
"If (we) are seen or heard talking about HIV/AIDS or condoms, (we) will be in trouble with our teachers," said Musa Dube*, a member of the group.
But with the introduction of the manual, Musa and others in the group hope their teachers will now support them in their effort to live positively.
But Portia Munyoro, a trainee teacher at the Morgan Teachers’ College in Harare believes teachers "are not that inhumane to ill-treat these (HIV-positive) children".
"As teachers, we know that our task is to help these children get a brighter future, whether they are (HIV-) positive or not," Munyoro says.
She says although she has attended a number of counselling workshops at schools and at ward level, she still finds it difficult when it comes to counselling children. "Counselling children is much more difficult than counselling adults because one has to simplify everything, and I hope this manual will equip us with ways of handling this challenge," Munyoro says.
"At times you try to use force for the children to open up, and this is probably where this talk about harassment comes from."
The manual was developed to address this, among other issues.
The manual has sessions on cultivating positive group dynamics, basic and technical information on HIV/AIDS, gender and sexuality.
Rita Mbatha, the founder and executive director of Women’s Comfort Corner, a non-governmental organisation that works with women at the grassroots in communities, said the manual will go a long way helping not only teachers and pupils, but also women who do most of the work as care givers.
"Educators play an important role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly in terms of ensuring proper care among infected and affected children. Teachers are best positioned to handle issues of denial and stigma among and against school children," says Mbatha.
She says the impact teachers can make on their students would cascade to the rest of the community.
"The school offers a good foundation for shaping how people behave in society, and all this centres around the teacher. I have no doubt this manual will provide the link that has always been missing between parents or guardians and teachers of children living with HIV," adds Mbatha.
*Names have been changed
(END)
By Vusumuzi Sifile
HARARE, Jan 15, 2010 (IPS)
In a country where aids agencies estimate 120,000 children are HIV-positive, school teachers are finding themselves increasingly in the frontline of the epidemic.
The National AIDS Council recently carried out a study that found "teachers had not received enough HIV/ART education to carry out their supportive role in paediatric and adolescent care and support".
And from Memory’s situation it is clear that teachers are ill-equipped to cope with the number of HIV-positive children in schools.
Mbuya Tapera, Memory’s grandmother, listens daily as her grandchild relates how she has been ill-treated by her teacher. "Her teacher believes she is wasting time by coming to school when it is obvious she will die before she completes her studies." "I think she is better off at home than at school," says Tapera.
But the situation in the country’s schools has not gone unnoticed.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Harare Cluster office partnered with the ministry of higher and tertiary education to develop an HIV/AIDS manual for teachers.
The manual will be incorporated into the curriculum at teacher’s training colleges from Jan 11, the start of the new academic year.
The manual will also be distributed to teachers who are already practicing. Special courses and workshops will also be held for those teachers already practicing.
"The role of the teacher in the fight against HIV/AIDS among other social development issues cannot be overly emphasised," says higher and tertiary education permanent secretary, Dr Washington Mbizvo.
He says the ministry believes teachers have the ability to develop the intellectual and spiritual capacity of the child. "It is important to enhance teacher education as a means of attaining an HIV/AIDS-free society. We have to ensure that all teachers are grounded in their knowledge of HIV/AIDS," says Mbizvo.
The director and resident representative of UNESCO, Soo Hyang Choi, says the development of the manual was influenced by a realisation that the involvement of teachers would boost the fight against HIV.
"Education can no longer be business as usual, teachers have to acquire adequate skills to be able to address these children in a sensitive and informed manner," said Choi.
Tapera agrees. "These teachers have no understanding whatsoever about HIV. For them whoever has the virus has been sentenced to death. It seems they do not believe that one can live a normal life with it. And it seems they just do not care to listen to some of us," added Tapera.
Memory tested positive in 2005, the year she started primary school. Tapera and other relatives got assistance from community support groups which helped Memory to accept her status and believe that she can still have a good quality of life
"When she went to school, we all believed school was the best place for her," Tapera says. But things have changed. Now everyone at the school knows that Memo is positive, and that her mother died of an AIDS-related illness. "All this is because of her teacher who makes it appear like Memory committed a serious crime," Tapera says.
Other students across the country have also experienced this stigma from their teachers.
Because of the lack of support at their school a group of HIV-positive youngsters in Gwanda, the provincial capital for Matabeleland South, grouped together and formed their own support group. Despite their knowledge about the virus they are not allowed to speak publically to other students at school about issues surrounding HIV.
"If (we) are seen or heard talking about HIV/AIDS or condoms, (we) will be in trouble with our teachers," said Musa Dube*, a member of the group.
But with the introduction of the manual, Musa and others in the group hope their teachers will now support them in their effort to live positively.
But Portia Munyoro, a trainee teacher at the Morgan Teachers’ College in Harare believes teachers "are not that inhumane to ill-treat these (HIV-positive) children".
"As teachers, we know that our task is to help these children get a brighter future, whether they are (HIV-) positive or not," Munyoro says.
She says although she has attended a number of counselling workshops at schools and at ward level, she still finds it difficult when it comes to counselling children. "Counselling children is much more difficult than counselling adults because one has to simplify everything, and I hope this manual will equip us with ways of handling this challenge," Munyoro says.
"At times you try to use force for the children to open up, and this is probably where this talk about harassment comes from."
The manual was developed to address this, among other issues.
The manual has sessions on cultivating positive group dynamics, basic and technical information on HIV/AIDS, gender and sexuality.
Rita Mbatha, the founder and executive director of Women’s Comfort Corner, a non-governmental organisation that works with women at the grassroots in communities, said the manual will go a long way helping not only teachers and pupils, but also women who do most of the work as care givers.
"Educators play an important role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly in terms of ensuring proper care among infected and affected children. Teachers are best positioned to handle issues of denial and stigma among and against school children," says Mbatha.
She says the impact teachers can make on their students would cascade to the rest of the community.
"The school offers a good foundation for shaping how people behave in society, and all this centres around the teacher. I have no doubt this manual will provide the link that has always been missing between parents or guardians and teachers of children living with HIV," adds Mbatha.
*Names have been changed
(END)
By Vusumuzi Sifile
HARARE, Jan 15, 2010 (IPS)
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