The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube
In a bid to curb various forms of abuse, the Union for the Development of Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe (Udaciza) and World Vision International are hosting empowerment programmes for young girls within apostolic sects.
The programme which is dubbed ‘IGATE’ is expected to run until 2017.
Since last year, Udaciza has been moving across the country’s 10 provinces to train young girls who do not have access to education and are exposed to early marriages.
The aim of the project is to curb early marriages through improving the girls’ access to education and providing information that safe guards their rights.
The project was established in 2015 and since then, school teachers, district administrators and parents have been engaged.
It is the first of its kind among apostolic sects and to date, over 120 young girls, mainly from remote areas, have since graduated and are ready to pass the information on to others.
Udaciza secretary-general, Reverend Edson Tsvakai said the IGATE program is demonstrating their commitment of transforming old practices and empowering the girl child.
“Ever since we launched our Action Plan in 2013, we never turned back on advocating for the rights of young girls, we realised that it is crucial to educate young girls about their sexual reproductive rights and how to value themselves so that they are not vulnerable to abuses.
Udaciza started advocating for women and girls’ rights when they launched their Apostolic Strategic Action Plan in 2013. Its structures facilitated action against perpetrators of child abuse, violence and other forms of exploitation.
Rev Tsvakai added that before the launch of their action plan, a lot of abuse cases went unreported because of a number of issues.
“Perpetrators of abuse usually threaten their victims. But apart from being threatened, most of the girls were also ignorant about their sexual reproductive health rights.
“It is an open secret that most of our sect leaders have been using the Bible to suppress women and girls within the church, and as a body (Udaciza), we are ready to rectify that.
“We are working with the church leaders and I am pleased to say that there is notable progress,” he said.
He said women should have self-esteem and be able to stand against any form of abuse.
In its strategic plan, Udaciza intends to unlock opportunities that address poverty issues and confront religious, cultural and socio-economic systems as well as practices that halt progress and positive human development outcomes in the apostolic community.
Udaciza is the umbrella body representing the African indigenous Apostolic and Zionist Churches in Zimbabwe.
It was formed in 1993 as a result of a dialogue between African Indigenous Church leaders and various stakeholders, including the Government.
