MINISTER of Community Development and Social Services Doreen Mwamba has disclosed Zambia has recorded a 3.3 percent increase in Gender Based Violence Cases in the 3rd quarter of 2024, compared to the same period last year.
Ms Mwamba says the situation is worrying as GBV is a critical gender and human rights issue that needs to be addressed in the country’s quest to achieve gender equality and equity.
ZANIS reports that she said this in a speech read for her by Minister of Information and Media Cornelius Mweetwa during the official opening of the Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) Annual General Meeting held in Lusaka.
Ms Mwamba further challenged the (NGOCC) to include the boy child in its programmes of empowering girls and women in order to achieve gender equality and equity.
Ms Mwamba observed that most organisations that champion gender equality only focus on women and girls, a situation she says contributes to the increase in (GBV), teenage pregnancies and early marriages cases.
She therefore stressed the need to invest equal effort and resources in both girls and boys at an early stage, if the country is to achieve gender equality and combat GBV teenage pregnancies and early marriages.
“Investing in a mindset shift of a boy child in a community that trains a boy child to feel different from a girl child even in terms of role- play is important because after all, when we talk about GBV and political participation of women, there is only one person who is competing or a culprit in this equation,” Ms Mwamba noted.
Meanwhile, NGOCC reiterated its appeal to the government to re-establish the Ministry of Gender and establish a gender commission.
NGOCC Chairperson Grace Sinkamba expressed gratitude to the Gender Division but however stated that the Division, headed by the Permanent Secretary cannot fully mainstream gender issues.
“While we appreciate the role of the Gender Division, the reality is that the Gender PS’s power to convene ends on her level. We believe issues of women require a dedicated Minister who can be present in both cabinet and parliament,” She said,
And Mrs Sinkamba also stated that the general assembly provides an opportunity for the council to reflect on its past successes and failures and lessons learnt in its quest for a society where men and women enjoy equal opportunities.
She said the organisation recognises the need to reposition, hence the move to transform and rebrand in order to increase its impact.
Speaking at the same meeting, Head of Development and Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy Susanna Hughes pledged her country’s continued support towards addressing GBV cases and teenage pregnancies, among other gender issues in the country.
Ms Hughes explained that Sweden supports a range of interventions related to GBV, access to justice for women, Social Cash Transfer, women’s economic empowerment and girls’ education, among others.
She however highlighted the need for society to play its part in order to achieve sustainable change by strengthening women’s collective power to champion gender equality.
“As cooperating partners, we can provide support, but sustainable change must come from within the society,” Ms Hughes stressed.
