BY FRESHA KINASA
IN commemorations of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania (HGWT) organization in collaboration with the Police Gender and Children's Desk in Serengeti District, Mara region have provided education on gender-based violence at Mapinduzi Day Primary School and help with towels for female students at the school.
Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today, remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.
This year's slogan says, 'every life is worth ending the killing and violence against women and children' which officially start on today November 25, 2022 and its peak will be December 10, 2022.
The organization Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania has been working with the Police Gender and Children's Desk, Social Welfare and Community Development where it deals with the fight against acts of gender-based violence in Mara Region under its Director, Rhobi Samwelly.HGWT runs two safe houses in the
Butiama and Serengeti Districts of the Mara Region of Tanzania, which
shelter and support those fleeing FGM, child marriage, and other forms
of gender based violence.
Those centers provide refuge for girls who flee violence of various kinds including female genital mutilation and child marriage as well as providing them with psychological support, their essential needs, developing them educationally and exemplary while in those centers so that they can achieve their dreams.
Speaking to the students of the school on November 24, 2022, Social Education Officer from Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania, Mr. Emmanuel Goodluck has said, acts of sexual violence are an obstacle to better welfare development, as they hold back development and affect health. So everyone should support the efforts of the government and the stakeholders in the fight against such actions.
"For example, mutilation has side effects including bleeding during the mutilation, being prepared for marriage and thus interrupting studies, the risk of contracting infectious diseases, psychological effects due to forced mutilation as well as disability, so mutilation is not suitable and must be opposed.
"There are also beatings on women and children, sexual acts on children and rape, these also have a great impact on the well-being of our society," said Goodluck.
Also, he asked the students to be ambassadors to provide education on the effects of gender-based violence that they received in order to ensure that the violence ends.
Suzan John is a form three student at Twiboke Secondary School who lives at the Hope Mugumu Nyumba Salama Center after fleeing FGM, She asked the government to continue to provide education to the community and strictly administer the law to punish those who commit violent acts because they prevent girls from achieving their dreams.
On their part, the female students at the school, speaking to DIRAMAKINI, have praised the provision of that education along with being given female towels, as it will help them cover themselves and get rid of not attending classes during menstruation.
Anna Lange,headmistress of Mapinduzi Day Secondary School,said that society should put emphasis on education, especially educating girls, because if they are educated, the whole society benefits in the social and economic sphere.
Lange has praised the work done by the Hope for Girls Organization in combating acts of violence and helping girls achieve their goals by providing them with essential needs and developing them educationally.
Pius Julius Kahabi is the Police Inspector, Assistant Inspector of the Police Force, Division of Gender and Children Desk, Serengeti District, has asked the students to provide information on acts of gender-based violence in Government offices, police and community development offices.
He said, Serengeti District Gender and Children Desk has organized in collaboration with Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania and various stakeholders to form councils in primary and secondary schools in the district.
"We have planned to go around the entire district to create sexual violence councils. There are many children who are subjected to violence and information is not given, but these clubs that we will create will go to raise violence in their areas, the aim is to ensure the protection and safety of children, because violence is a crime by law. We need to have joint power in stopping acts of sexual violence in the Serengeti District,'' said Kahabi.
About HGWT
Hope for Girls and Women was founded by the Tanzanian activist Rhobi Samwelly in 2017. Rhobi’s personal experience of being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child inspired her lifelong commitment to fight for the rights of girls and women.