Young Women In Peaceful March Against Gender Based Violence (GBV)

ABOUT two hundred young women from Bulawayo took to the streets in a peaceful march against gender based Violence on International Human Rights Day. The march was organised by the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) to raise awareness on gender based violence and to encourage young women to speak out against all forms of violence against women. 

International Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10 December every year and is the last day of 16 Days of Activism against gender based violence. During the march, the young women were calling for everyone to join the fight against gender based violence as it is an issue that affects all citizens.

They carried placards with warning messages such as; violence against one is violence against all, advocacy messages like; Together We Can End Gender Based Violence, No Means No! as well as messages of encouragement which read; Your Silence Means He Has Won, Report Cases Of Gender Based Violence.  

The march started from the city hall to Presbyterian Church hall were the young women converged for solidarity messages from various civil society organisations. It also became a networking opportunity for the young women who interacted with various organisations that offer different forms of support to the young women with regards to their rights. The organisation shared their information materials with the young women.

Emthonjeni Women’s Forum, Radio Dialogue, Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), Female Journalists Network, Sisters Clinic, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), Young at Heart and Victory Siyanqoba Trust all gave solidarity messages at the event. The different organisations re-affirmed their commitment to the fight against gender based violence, whilst highlighting the different ways in which they can be of assistance to the young women with regard to various issues of concern.

Radio Dialogue and Female Journalists Network highlighted that their major concern was to amplify the voices of the marginalised through various forms of media. As such, the young women were urged to take advantage of the various forms of media accessible to them to voice their issues. Victory Siyanqoba, an arts organisation also highlighted that it helps bring out some of the unspoken issues through theatre, as a way of generating dialogue about those issues.   

WILD, SRC and BPRA on the other hand indicated that their organisations were concerned with lobby and advocacy on issues that affect men and women in their different spheres of operation and gender based violence was one of the issues of concern for them. They said they remain committed to working towards making sure all people enjoy their rights as human beings. Emthonjeni Women’s Forum, whose core business is to address issues of gender based violence highlighted that they offer support through free counselling services and legal advice. The Sisters Clinic offers free reproductive healthcare services to women and therefore encouraged young women not to be embarrassed by seeking medical attention for STIs or even issues of contraception.

The NYDT has been offering separate platforms for young women to deliberate on key issues of concern as a way of amplifying young women’s voice in community and national processes. Such a move followed the realisation that in mixed platforms, the male issues were dominating.