|
Back to Index
Canada
supports Zimbabwean organisations in gender equality projects
Taurai Maduna,
Kubatana.net
February 01, 2007
 View
audio file details
 |
| (From
left to right) Godrey Chitambo, Executive Director (ZAMFI),
Roxanne Dubé,Canada's Ambassador to Zimbabwe &
(ZAMFI) respresentative |
 The
Women's
Coalition of Zimbabwe is set to launch an intensive awareness
campaign in Masvingo on the Domestic
Violence Bill which was gazetted in parliament on June 30, 2006.
The Bill is meant to provide for protection and relief to victims
of domestic violence.
The Women’s Coalition pilot campaign to be conducted over a period
of one year is one of the three projects launched in Zimbabwe today
by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CIDA is
funding three projects aimed at empowering and promoting gender
equality in Zimbabwe valued at CAD$168 000.
Roxanne Dube,
Canadian Ambassador to Zimbabwe said the pilot campaign on the Domestic
Violence Bill is intended to change the mindset that domestic violence
belongs in the private sphere. "The pilot project on the Domestic
Violence Bill will enable all stakeholders to jointly uphold and
protect the rights of women and children," said Dube.
 |
| Netsai
Mushonga, Coordinator for the Women's Coalition |
Netsai
Mushonga, Coordinator for the Women's Coalition told Kubatana.net
that her organisation would launch the pilot project in Masvingo
because this city has the highest femicide cases in the country.
listen
to audio file
In an effort to raise awareness amongst the local community in Masvingo,
Mushonga said the Coalition has produced an abridged version of
the Domestic Violence Bill, which has been translated into two of
the local languages, Shona and Ndebele. listen
to audio file
The Women's Coalition received CAD$63 000 aimed at supporting efforts
toward improving the coordination and collaboration within women
groups in Zimbabwe. Part of the money was used for activities around
16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence in November and December
2006.
CIDA has also
contributed over CAD$63 000 to the micro-finance project being implemented
by the Southern African Micro Finance Capacity Building Facility
(SAMCAF). The project, which will run over a three-year period,
will benefit more than 15 000 people, more than half of who are
women. According to SAMCAF, the project will strengthen the capacity
of 13 Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) to integrate gender and
HIV/AIDS into their programmes.
Godrey Chitambo,
Executive Director for Zimbabwe
Association of Micro Finance Institutions (ZAMFI) told Kubatana.net
that in 2004 a study conducted by the University of Zimbabwe and
funded by CIDA on the impact of micro-finances on enterprises owned
by women had revealed that 80% of their clients were women.
Chitambo said
while 80% of their clients are women both ZAMFI and MFIs had gender
empowerment strategies. He added that his organisation is addressing
gender inequalities and hoped that the CIDA funded programme will
go a long way in raising the profile of gender and HIV/AIDS issues
amongst MFIs.
listen
to audio file
MFIs in Zimbabwe play a key role in poverty reduction through providing
financial and non-financial services to economically active but
poor people in Zimbabwe.
Christina Mudungwe
who is living positively with HIV and who is a beneficiary of MFIs
gave an emotive testimony on how family and friends shunned her
when she was trying to raise money to pay her hospital bills. She
said she got relief when she received funding from one MFI and now
she is able to sustain her family by selling vegetables in Mbare,
one of Harare's oldest townships.
According to CIDA
the three projects that are being funded contribute directly to
the fight against HIV/AIDS by reducing domestic violence and poverty,
which have been linked to the spread of the pandemic.
Visit the Kubatana.net
fact
sheet
Audio File
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
