GIDD to embark on gender advocacy, awareness

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA

MINISTRY of Gender and Child Development (MGCD) will by mid-April commence plans to advocate and raise awareness on gender, using community radio stations country-wide.

MGCD permanent secretary Edwidge Mutale told Femail in an interview that the concept of raising awareness on gender comes as a result of many people misunderstanding the term and elect to think it is only associated with women yet it is just the emphasis placed on women as they are the marginalised.

Ms Mutale said the ministry intends to use community radio stations as they are an effective tool of communication between the government and grassroots in the communities.

Community radio stations are also at an advantage due to the usage of the local language in particular areas where the station is located.

She said: "We do not want to use public media like ZNBC which usually uses the English language and they only have radio two that broadcasts in local languages.

What we want are community radio stations that will help us convey the clear message on gender, gender based violence and defilement to the people at the grassroots in their local language".

Ms Mutale said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services will help MGCD in identifying community radio stations in provincial capitals that can be used as instruments in conveying the proper concept of gender.

She said it is important to also to be clear on what gender related issues are. Ms Mutale also said the increased number of GBV cases currently being reported in the media show that people are getting the message and that there is increased awareness.

She said the media has also been proactive in their reporting and that is why people are now coming out more and more to report on GBV cases.

She has since appealed to various stakeholders and the media not to relent in raising awareness on gender.

Meanwhile, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) executive director Patricia Ndhlovu said the continued increase in the cases of GBV is as a result of a big disparity between the time the case is reported and when it is disposed of.

Ms Ndhlovu said there is need to have fast track courts so that cases are disposed of quickly to have offenders incarcerated. "Despite the courts meting out stiffer punishments on offenders of GBV, the trend has continued and hardly a day passes without reading in the paper on such cases", she said.

 Ms Ndhlovu urged the government and law makers to make GBV cases unbailable.