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Statement on International Women's Day commemorations
Padare/Enkundleni/Men's Forum on Gender
March 08, 2010

Padare/Enkundleni/Men's Forum on gender joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International Women's Day which is running under the theme, "Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities, Progress for all." This dais commemorated on the 8th of March of every year following a resolution made by the UN General Assembly in 1975 to celebrate the life of women in honour of their contributions that they have made in the peace development of the world.

As we are celebrating this day, Padare/Enkundleni takes stock of the circumstances surrounding the woman of Zimbabwe today in order to reveal the extent to which this woman is enjoying equal opportunity like her male counterpart and also if the upholding of her rights is being respected.

Sadly, to a greater extend the woman of Zimbabwe has not been able to realize her full potential due some extenuating factors that hinder the realization of her opportunities. These factors range from the legal framework where there is no provisions in the current constitution that seek to address the urgent felt specific needs of women to the cultural practises that have always alienated women to subordinate positions that maintains the myth that women are inferior to men and should be treated as second class citizens.

It is to this end that Padare/Enkundleni is working with men of different social standings to reverse these gender imbalances so that every citizen of Zimbabwe will be able to access equal opportunities without facing any form of violence or discrimination especially on the grounds of gender disparity. Again, Padare/Enkundleni calls upon all Zimbabweans especially women to participate passionately in the current constitution making process in order to enact provisions that strives for the progress of all.

Gender based violence on the increase in Nkayi

Following the recent gender awareness campaigns undertaken in Nkayi (Matebeleland North), Padare/Enkundleni/Men's Forum on Gender in collaboration with Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) have learnt of the existence of serious gender based violence cases within that area. The following are some of the issues that came to light over the past six months:

• 39 cases of domestic violence were reported, with 38 cases involving men as perpetrators and only one case that involve a woman as perpetrator. From this kind of statistics it loosely means on average 7 cases of domestic violence are being reported per month.
• A female headmistress at Bhoda Bhoda at the area around Bhoda Bhoda primary school was harassed by some male community members who detest the existence of a female head at the school so that she could possibly quit the job.
• Child abuse cases were also reported. In one incident a rapist, sexually abused 9 primary school girls at knife point at a bush near the school. However the scandal came into light and prompted the head to investigate, which led to the arrest of the perpetrator.

In another case of rape, a serial rapist who targeted young girls from vulnerable families was slammed with an effective sentence of 80 years in jail.

All this has come to light following the interventions by Padare/Enkundleni men mobilising other men to establish gender watch committees.

In response to the increasing gender based violence cases being reported, the Padare/Enkundleni Nkayi Chapter led by Mr. D Dlamini have managed to open another chapter called Nkalakatha in order to decentralise and increase awareness campaigns against gender based violence. In addition the chapter has managed to work closely with the Police Victim Friendly Unit in order to help the survivors of violence.

Speaking on the situation at Nkayi, the Padare/Enkundleni- Rural and Community Advocacy office Mr Paul Juru said, "The situation at Nkayi is a tip of an iceberg. More cases of domestic violence are going unreported probably because of some people's fear of the pressure that might come from relatives if a police case is made for a case committed by a family member. In addition people are less empowered in terms of information and knowledge about some legal instruments like the Domestic Violence Act that seek to protect people from domestic violence or gender based violence."

As can be evidently seen there is a lot of work that needs to be done not only in Nkayi but also across Zimbabwe. Padare/Enkundleni is therefore calling on all collaborations with all stakeholders to launch a series of campaigns against gender-based violence in various districts of the country.

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