First Lady takes legal clinic and GBV awareness to Birchenough

Tendai Rupapa in BIRCHENOUGH

An electric atmosphere enveloped Birchenough in Manicaland Province yesterday where First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa arrived to a rousing welcome from thousands of people gathered for her legal clinic and gender-based violence awareness campaign as she unveiled programmes tailored to address the concerns of the whole family.

The Province took the opportunity to celebrate the First Lady’s birthday with beneficiaries of her women empowerment projects showing their prowess in baking.

They presented birthday cakes to Amai Mnangagwa who humbly accepted the gesture before sharing the cakes with everyone present.

It was a touching and joyous moment when the gathering sang ”Happy Birthday”, adding colour to the event.

A surge in rape cases involving minors in Chipinge and numerous calls on other GBV-related cases being reported on her National Gender-Based Violence Call Centre 575, prompted Dr Mnangagwa to undertake the awareness programme to put an end to the menace, save lives and create harmony in communities.

The long distance from Harare that Amai Mnangagwa covered, is a testament to her love for the people countrywide, with distance not a barrier.

A legal clinic is a programme often associated with legal aid organisations, that provides free legal services.

In this case, the Office of the First Lady is working with the Master of High Court and the Police Victim Friendly Unit to enable people, mainly widows and widowers, to be conversant with inheritance laws.

Yesterday, elderly women and men were given the platform to share what helped them remain in marriage for long, providing a learning curve for young couples.

Performing arts ensemble, IYASA enacted a play which depicted the challenges caused by domestic violence and another one highlighting the plight of widows.

Addressing the gathering, the First Lady highlighted the need for women to be dignified and to always set good examples for their children.

She also hammered on the importance of creating good names for themselves.

“I am glad to be here where we are teaching and planning together as a family with the aim of moulding homes and sowing the seeds of harmony. I want to start by focusing on the woman at the homestead. If a family goes astray, the mother is to blame. If a child does not follow morally acceptable behaviour and etiquette, the mother is again to blame. If a child falls sick, the mother handles that challenge. I then ask whether you are the self-same woman I have come for today. I want to know how you are perceived in the community. How did you acquire the nicknames you have? Are they good or bad? Come and tell me where these names originated from?”

The question elicited a lot of responses, some of which induced laughter.

Mrs Anita Sithole says; “In our village, we have mai Madoro. She is a woman who spends time in the bar without time to prepare meals for her family.”

Another contributor said “Gumbomutsvairo” is a woman who is found everywhere where there is gossip while “Jachachacha” is a carefree type of woman who never has time to plan while doing the rounds aimlessly in the community.

Mrs Ndakaziva Mutenda spoke about a woman who was labelled a lioness because of her hard work.

“In our community, there is a widow who is strong and works for her family. We nicknamed her Lioness because even her husband’s relatives who sought to dispossess her of her inheritance failed,” she said, triggering laughter.

Yet another contributor spoke of a woman who was nicknamed “Kandege” because of her restlessness which made it difficult to perform her household chores.

“What of those who are promiscuous and ogle other people’s husbands? They must be given names also,” the First Lady said in jest.

She added,” Kana wakafirwa gara pamba pako ugutsikane woti Mwari murume hapachina chindipai simba rekushandira mhuri. Ukada zvekubuda uchatora zvirwere.”

“A woman must stand in her rightful position and move on the correct path without nicknames which are a result of bad traits. God assigned us roles as women which are different from those of men. Yes, challenges will come along the way but I urge you to pray for your family because God will never give you a load that you cannot carry. I am also happy that men are here and have also learnt about GBV and inheritance. We want peace in our homes. We saw our Iyasa children presenting a play exposing the badness of domestic violence. We want peace in our homes. On inheritance, do not fear visiting the Master of the High Court for assistance because their offices are open for you. Do not be disinherited illegally.”

The First Lady also spoke candidly against naughtiness in children, and drug and substance abuse among men, women and children.

“What of the naughtiness in children characterised by poor dressing, whose house are they coming from? If a girl child dresses badly, what image of you does that present? Some children copy this undignified dressing from their parents. As mothers, please stand in your rightful positions and be role models. Government placed us in our rightful position sanamai and brought Agric4she so that you use your hands, but some women are missing from such programmes because of gossiping and laziness. Drunkenness among men is contributing to domestic violence and a high rate of divorce cases. Let us shun alcohol and drug abuse and look after our families properly. In the olden days, divorce cases were non-existent because people followed the correct channels. Vana mbuya can you tell us how you lived in the olden days and why our grandfathers fell in love with you,” she said. A granny who has been married for 70 years spoke of the importance of good manners.

“I have been married for over 70 years. My husband proposed to me because I was well-mannered. I was not naughty to the point of dating many men at the same time. I did not elope and we followed the proper channels of going through our aunties. This is far different from today where you propose to one another on social media today and sleep together tomorrow. They do not value virginity and these marriages do not last,” she warned.

An elderly woman warned children against having an unsatiable appetite for money.

“These children of nowadays have a huge appetite for money at the expense of love. Girls no longer look for love but a deep pocket. So what will you do when he goes broke? During our heydays, we never considered one’s financial muscle. A girl was loved because of her cultural norms and values while for boys we looked at one’s skills,” she said.

Another woman shared the secret to a happy marriage.

“We valued conjugal rights as well in our marriages in line with how we had been taught by our aunties and grandmothers. Nowadays marriages are collapsing over conjugal rights. A slight misunderstanding, couples sleep away from one another as the husband seeks a girlfriend while the wife looks for a boyfriend and this brings about diseases in the home,” she said.

Amai Mnangagwa urged young couples to listen and learn from the fortresses of knowledge.

The mother of the nation decried the rise in child sexual abuse cases in Chipinge district.

She inquired on some of the causes of the menace.

“What is it that is driving the rape of minor children? Through my 575 toll-free line, I am receiving many reports of children being raped here in Chipinge. A case in point is of a minor 8-year-old who was being raped by her brothers aged 27 and 14. Why is this so? Vabereki vanenge varipi zvakadai zvichiitika?” she asked.

A young man attributed this to drug abuse.

“When someone is high, they will be worse than animals. Some people are taking concoctions to enhance their sexual appetite and they end up raping children as they seek someone closer and vulnerable,” he said.

Yet another male contributor echoed similar sentiments saying most people who rape children do so for rituals and are made to think that abusing a minor enhances their luck.

A female contributor expressed shock at the emergence of women who were also raping minors.

“Amai, even women are also raping young boys. You see someone who is 45 years old bedding a 13-year-old boy. What pleasure does one derive from a child? These women are luring the boys with money,” she said.

The First Lady emphasised the need for parents to protect their children from all forms of abuse ensuring that they focus on their studies. She said the long arm of justice will catch up with the perpetrators.

Mrs Daisy Gazimbi from the Master of the High Court’s Office gave the gathering a lecture on what her office stood for and the best way to prevent people from being disinherited in the event of the death of a loved one.

“We are responsible for administering the distribution of the wealth you are working for. Once you lose a spouse, rush to our offices because your inheritance has to be distributed by the law. You do not pay anything when you come to inform us of the death.

“We are, however, witnessing challenges especially when a husband dies. Widows are taking long to notify us within the stipulated 14 days. We asked why they delayed and they said the husband’s relatives needed to be notified first so that they grant the go-ahead at their own will. But we are saying come and tell us first then we call the relatives as we follow the next steps. Some couples are also not registering their marriages even to traditional leaders and churches. You must see whether your husband whom you are living and working with has no other marriage because you may work for nothing and the goods will be taken by someone who did not work for them. Both men and women must feel free to visit our offices,” she said.

Assistant Inspector Gloria Mugodhi of Manicaland Police Victim Friendly Unit said Dr Mnangagwa’s 575 call centre had come in handy to her unit as it assisted a lot of people countrywide.

“Horseplay between a man and sisters-in-law is now a thing of the past. It is now actually criminal because to learners we say don’t touch. Children under the age of 18 are not supposed to be bedded. No woman can be married off to someone she does not love because it’s a crime. We also have a law against cyberbullying and harassment, do not insult someone over the phone or show nude pictures because that too is a crime. We also abhor physical abuse and fighting. We must not destroy property because this is illegal. Psychological abuse like giving someone a nickname is a crime. Body shaming is a crime too. As the Victim Friendly Unit we work with the GBV call centre 575 which can be phoned without airtime so that we investigate the cases and assist one another. When raped, proceed to the hospital where we will collect our evidence and you will be helped to prevent sexually transmitted infections. If you get abused or someone close to you has been abused, tell someone whom you trust. You can tell nurses while learners can inform their teachers. Report rape cases within 72 hours. We also work on tip-offs. You can report such cases on 575 or you can write letters to the VFU,” she said.

Let us encourage one another to report because we must assist one another at all times,”she said.

Tafadzwa Mugabe of the 575 GBV Toll-free call centre praised Dr Mnangagwa for setting up the 575 National Gender-Based Violence Call Centre.

The main thrust of this initiative, she said, was to eradicate any forms of violence relating to gender and foster peace in the domestic set-up.

Speaking at the same occasion, Simbarashe Makina of the National Aids Council said women were three times more vulnerable to HIV than their male counterparts.

“We also have programmes we introduced in a bid to curb GBV and child abuse. We work with the Ministry of Health and Child Care where we refer people for cancer screenings, for family planning services, and for treatment of other diseases.”

Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Hon Angeline Gata, who is also the legislator for Mutema-Musikavanhu Constituency praised the First Lady for her inclusive Programmes.

“The First Lady tackles challenges that we encounter daily in life. She leaves no one and no place behind in her initiatives. Today she is here in Chipinge which is far from Harare which shows her love for the people,” she said.

Cde Gata urged her fellow MPs to cascade Amai’s teachings in their constituencies.

Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Advocate Misheck Mugadza expressed gratitude to the First Lady for always remembering his province in her well-thought-out programmes.

“Your Excellency, let me on behalf of the people of Manicaland Province, offer our collective appreciation for your presence at this event today. May I take this opportunity to acknowledge and salute you Amai for the invaluable and able leadership you continue to demonstrate in women empowerment and emancipation. Under your able leadership Amai, we have witnessed various life-changing projects which have brought tremendous benefit not only in Manicaland but in all the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe. On behalf of the province and indeed on my behalf, we are truly honoured to have you providing guidance and support to us whenever we need it. You are an all-encompassing icon leaving a lasting legacy of caring and ensuring the welfare of the vulnerable and making sure it takes centre stage. We thank you,” he said.

The First Lady donated tonnes of rice and meal meal to the community. – Herald