World Vision takes gender to the pulpit

31 Jul, 2016 - 00:07 0 Views
World Vision takes gender to the pulpit

The Sunday Mail

CHRISTIAN NGO World Vision Zimbabwe is educating religious leaders on issues of gender-based violence so that they can pass on the message via their pulpits.

The Prevention of Violence against Adolescents and Young Women project deals with knowledge gaps, attitudes and practices that fuel gender-based violence, mainly in rural areas.

Funded by Danish aid agency Danida, the project is part of the United Nations Women’s Cluster of Social Mobilisation and Advocacy.

Its two-tier approach at district and national level will see World Vision working in Bindura Central, Makoni and Beitbridge with bodies like the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and the Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe and Africa.

World Vision Zimbabwe national gender co-ordinator Ms Madrine Chiku said the project would help religious leaders appreciate matters of GBV, gender equality and patriarchy.

“We have developed our own models which address issues of GBV. We have one model which is known as the Channels of Hope for Gender. It has an integration of gender issues while also addressing them from a biblical perspective. We have also identified that people who do not attend theological colleges tend to misinterpret the Bible using it to predispose young girls and adolescent girls to GBV.

“So when we bring in the biblical dimension, we are trying to show that the Bible does not support GBV … We also begin to discuss about them. Issues like how in King David’s palace a case of gender based violence happened when a brother raped his sister. But we don’t see anyone rising up to challenge that,” Ms Chiku said.

Zimbabwe has ratified key international and regional instruments like the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women and the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development.

Zimbabwe also developed a policy framework for GBV prevention and responses, which includes the Domestic Violence Act. In addition, GBV has been identified as an area for joint effort by all UN agencies within the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework for 2012-2015.

Ms Chiku said they had partnered the Women’s Affairs and Health ministries, and the Police Victim Friendly Unit, in their project. She said they had faced serious challenges, particularly with apostolic sects, due to ignorance and indoctrination.

“Issues like immunisation, not valuing education among others from a broad perspective are GBV issues. So we decided to assist them (through Udaciza) to generate a policy and we have drafted a memorandum of understanding,” she said.

“We are starting the consultative process in August as the board of trustees have endorsed that we conduct the policy. We will be looking at gender based violence issues in the life cycle of a human being from the time when the woman gets pregnant.

“Hence we are anticipating that after we have developed a policy at national level it will be disseminated to the grassroots to deal with those challenges that we have been experiencing which have impediments on our programming, not only us as World Vision but the nation at large.” Ms Chiku said she expected results as the Bible was non-condemning not threatening.

“The moment you go into communities, and you want to talk about gender they (people) think it’s a women’s issue (or) women are trying to challenge men and so forth. But when you use a biblical perspective you get their attention as the Bible is none threatening, none-condemning. We are trying to say GBV is not about women only but there are men who are suffering in the hands of women.

“We show challenges on issues of a mortality nature where young girls can actually die during delivery. Once we have defrost we begin to deal with the challenges even some of the GBV that is being perpetrated by pastors through issues of prophecy because people are gullible,” Ms Chiku said.

The consultative process is expected to take two weeks and will cover Zimbabwe’s ten provinces.

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