First Lady speaks against GBV, child marriages

16 Dec, 2018 - 00:12 0 Views
First Lady speaks against  GBV, child marriages First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa

The Sunday News

Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, has made a passionate plea to traditional leaders to help in the eradication of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and total elimination of child marriages, saying they were retrogressive and impact negatively on the lives of women and girls.

Amai Mnangagwa said this while addressing delegates at the just-ended 17th Annual National Peoples Conference in Esigodini before a fashion show awards presentation.

“One issue that is troubling me and I address it to traditional leaders is the issue of child marriages. Our children are being married off when they are still very young, zvinozoita here kuti mwana abare umwe mwana, we are told by the Ministry of Health that this has led to the young girls developing obstetric fistula as they give birth while very young and there is an increase in such cases,” she lamented.

Obstetric fistula is a hole that forms between the female sexual organ, bladder or rectum where the woman involuntarily passes urine and or faeces due to injury during childbirth. This then leads to the women involuntarily leaking urine or faeces.

She went on: “Vana baba varimuno, ndinokumbirisa musati roodzera vana vachiri vadiki, vana vanokanganisika huyezve zvinodzosera nyika pasi, ramangwana rake rinokanganisika nekuti kana asingasaendi kuchikoro hapana chaachawana chakanaka,” she said.

Amai Mnangagwa, who has been on a drive to educate women about cancer and also offering screening services advised women to take the disease seriously.

“I want to tell you that we have a challenge as women with cancer, a silent killer that is affecting us a lot. We need to get screened for cancer and know what’s affecting us,” she said.

The First Lady said breast cancer on the other hand may not present any such signs in the initial stages but women should get screened either way.

“I have a bus that is doing cancer screening, it is available for you. I asked the Ministry of Health who I am working with to have areas of screening here so that you may be assisted. If we quickly detect the various cancers, some can be treated and they do not spread further,” she said.

Prostate cancer is another area that is problematic as cancer does not affect women only but men too. She encouraged men to also get screened on time. The First Lady also touched on HIV.

“HIV and Aids is another issue, there are service providers from the Ministry of Health who have been here stationed outside hazvityise, hazvinyaadzise, it is such a good thing to know your status. We still need you in the party, we have a lot of work to do to develop our country.

We must get tested,” she said.

Women were urged to practice high standard of hygiene as the country has been affected by cholera in recent times. The First Lady also left no stone unturned as she spoke of the need for women to care for their husbands.

“Women are the backbones of all homes; we also need to ensure that our husbands are well kept with clean clothes always. In the same vein as you are supposed to be well kept please do not beat us up in the home so that we live happily. A woman who is experiencing violence in the home cannot then be able to cater for the husband well,” she said.

Secretary for the Women’s League Cde Mable Chinomona said the fashion show was done to encourage youths, men and women to take pride in wearing party regalia.

“We decided to showcase the party regalia in various fashionable ways not just as a wrap. The designs that you saw are testimony that one can use regalia to sew formal wear or evening wear,” she said.

She thanked female ministers who assisted in purchasing gifts that were given to the women who participated in the fashion show. Female Members of Parliament also assisted in the buying of gifts.

“We thank Cde Nyasha Chikwinya who donated two freezit making machines, two peanut butter machines and a shelling machine for peanuts as she has the spirit of uplifting other women in the party. We also got four big pots to promote the programme from the chairman of the party, Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri,” she added.

Nokuthula Sibanda who won Miss Zanu-PF Bulawayo Metropolitan Province last week also took the best prize at the fashion show in Esigodini and walked away with a refrigerator. Bulawayo Province also walked away with a freezit making machine for their participation at the event.

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