NTCHISI: Faith leaders have been challenged to be at the forefront in the fight against Gender-Based Violence GBV in the country as it has been noted that faith groups’ high level of grassroots presence is coupled with higher levels of trust within communities compared to the trust of secular NGOs and that in a society with high levels of religious adherence, faith leaders play an important role, something which could help in the fight against the malpractice.
Head of Programmes for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe Patrick Chima made the sentiments on Saturday, 29TH May this year during a stakeholder engagement meeting, which CCJP in partnership with the Child Rights Advocacy and Paralegal Aid Centre (CRAPAC) organized with Faith leaders from Ntchisi and Dowa districts at Thope lodge in Mponela, Dowa with an aim of enforcing collaborative efforts in the fight against Gender-Based Violence.
“This engagement organized under our project titled: ‘Raising the Voice of Women in the Fight against Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)’ seeks at finding a lasting solution to violence perpetrated against women and girls in the two districts, by engaging faith leaders whom we note that are influential in the field of family guidance, and marriage and couple reconciliation, and this makes them key players in the fight against GBV, ” stated Chima.
Concurring with Chima, Reverend Eliam Joseph Nkhoma of Chimbiri CCAP in Ntchisi noted that as religion they have the responsibility to provide spiritual, social, psychological and often material support for individuals and families.
He then pledged that since they deal with ultimate matters, they will also take what they have learnt back to church members hoping that it will help people make sense of their lives, as well as their role in their families and in their communities thereby, help to end gender-based violence.
Also present at the meeting was, Sheikh Mukoko of Ntchisi main Masjid who described the project as a milestone in the fight against all forms of violence noting that it has equipped them with skills to prevent and fight violence in their societies.
He then pledged to be an influence to the masses through teachings about gender-based violence.
“Quran teaches us that all that believe in Allah should refrain from being abusive, and this information learnt today will be used in our mosques through teachings so that those who hear it will practice what they’ve learnt and I believe that it will change people’s mindset towards gender,” remarked Sheikh Mukoko.
With funding from UN Women through Spotlight Initiative Project, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe in partnership with the Child Rights Advocacy and Paralegal Aid Centre (CRAPAC) is implementing a project designed to empower women and girls so that they can challenge drivers of violence against women and girls both in private and public spheres.
Dowa and Ntchisi districts continue to record an unprecedented rise in cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) despite combined efforts by the government and development partners to end the vice.
By Thandiwe Mzumara
Luntha TV