The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
The scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women in the country’s communities has been described as a cancer that festers and haunts its patient without restraint.
Gender-based violence has also been described as the sore finger – a painful outstanding issue in the lives of many women. While the roles of women have been evolving with several milestones having been recorded in all facets of life, the rural woman remains with little space to ascertain herself as there is a template of seemingly set roles that need to be continuously appreciated and reinforced.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has been fingered as one of the topical issues affecting both rural and urban women with both parties calling for a lasting solution to the problem. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that 49 percent of adolescent girls and women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced some form of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their current or most recent husband or partner.
Separate interviews with women in rural communities revealed that the women are affected by the scourge and would like to see a change. Gogo Ottah Ndlovu from Zhube in Umzingwane District in Matabeleland South Province reflect on her experience of GBV, divorce and marriage saying the institution had lost its value.
“As ugogo with many years of life I have seen a lot, during our time, we would get married and live peacefully with our husbands. Yes, there were times when we experienced problems but we were patient with each other and we forgave each other. But what we are experiencing today is shocking, one gets married today and the next thing they are divorced in a short space of time. Even if our husbands would stray, we would sometimes get wind of it but it was solved amicably and people would not even know that there was a case of infidelity. But today you burn each other with boiling water or oil,” she said.
She said acts of GBV were now leaving more women in trouble with the law as they seek revenge when their husbands stray. She said the institution of marriage was no longer respected as both parties lack respect for it.
“We were taught to respect our husbands, not that we never spoke out when we had problems but we were very patient with each other and sought help and advice from our elders when we had problems and that is why we stood with them for a lifetime,” said Gogo Ndlovu.
Still on the decay of moral fabric, she said children of today were difficult to discipline owing to their mothers’ vindictive nature.
“Young mothers of today do not want us to discipline their children, the Bible tells us that a child is disciplined via the rod but the mothers do not want, they call us abusers and do not want us to live with their children. It’s a sad state of affairs that young women do not want to have their children disciplined, we are hoping that Ubuntu is restored in the young generation. We want to see young women getting married and not the high divorce cases we are seeing today,” she said.
Mrs Sphilisiwe Ndlovu from Zhukwe West also lamented over the cases of GBV and divorce that has become rampant in society which she said was worrying.
“As a mother who has girl children, when I hear of cases of GBV, I always fear that my children will be affected too because we are seeing them meeting possessive men who are so violent. Marriages no longer last, I read in the newspaper that couples are divorcing in large numbers in the courts. We were separated from our husbands by death, we did have disagreements but we solved the issues and we moved on amicably, but today they are quick to divorce and we wonder why. Marriages no longer last. People get in and out like it’s a joke,” she added.
Ms Ndlovu said as they celebrate women’s month in Zhukwe, they have programmes lined up that they were hoping would shape the society and result in a reduction of GBV in the homes.
“We have a programme under women’s month at church where we are having an engagement as women on how to run the home, how to care for our children and various other activities that we do as women so we are doing it via the church and we will be teaching each other,” she said.
Various stakeholders have vowed to assist in curbing the spread of GBV over the years, however, reports are still being made of women and girls assaulted or killed by their partners. An elderly Mrs Sibonakaliso Ndlovu from Gwanda said Women’s Month was an important month that reminded people of the importance of women. She said there was a challenge however, with the youth who have lost their morals.
“Siyabazala abantwana kodwa bayasihlupha, discipline is what is lacking, they are engaging in all sorts of bad activities and when we try to discipline them, these days they have a tendency of committing suicide. So we are stuck and mothers and grandmothers on what to do to ensure our children are back on track. We need outsiders who can come and have sessions with the youth in the community so that they hear from other people because we as the women are suffering in the homes,” said Gogo Ndlovu.
While the issue of drug and substance abuse is topical in the urban areas, it has spilled into the rural committees with parents calling for interventions as they cannot control their children anymore. Child marriages are affecting the communities too, with mothers bearing the brunt as they are the carers and nurturers of the girl children and grandchildren.
“As women we have the burden of our girls getting into early marriages, our wish is to see them getting an education first before going into early marriages like we are seeing today. These girls need to be enlightened via workshops on the dangers of early marriages and early sexual debuts. We want them to be educated and preserve their purity for as long as possible, we look up to them as the women of tomorrow who will develop the nation,” said Ms Nothile Ncube of Matshetshe area in Umzingwane.
The Government has however, continued to make strides and has recently launched the Women at The Centre in collaboration with UNFPA focusing on providing increased support to survivors of GBV through quality case management. The project seeks to ensure increased and sustainable accessibility and availability of quality services for GVB survivors including those from marginalised communities, women and girls with disabilities, key populations and adolescent girls.
“In Zimbabwe this is a nationwide project that will be piloted in Bubi Matabeleland North Province and scaled to other provinces. GBV is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. It knows no social, economic, or national boundaries, it undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence,” said the Ministry of Women Affairs in a joint statement with UNFPA.
The ministry however, said the piloting of the project in Bubi District, will inform the realities faced by survivors in accessing services especially in hard to reach areas. – @NyembeziMu.
