Men now true partners in ending GBV

SUNDAY NEWS REPORTER

GOVERNMENT efforts in collaboration with various organisations to end Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has proved a success in different parts of the country, reflecting that women have begun to understand their rights and claim them successfully.

A press release issued by Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) on Friday said that such efforts have proved success in different areas, whereas men too have reduced habits of mistreating their wives.
The accolades can be shared between the government and efforts of different Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like TAMWA and Legal Service Facility (LSF).
According to the statement, among other stakeholders, who have played a big role in this endeavor, is Equality For Growth (EFG), that has been at the forefront to provide education to women, especially those in Ilala Municipality’s markets.
The success is also attributable to women in those areas, who now understand their basic rights. Business people in those areas now understand what gender equality is all about and now they don’t question when they see women contesting for leadership at different stages.
EFG collaborated with TAMWA alongside paralegals, an exercise that thrived at Kiwalani Kigilagila, Ilala and Buguruni markets, all located in Dar es Salaam Region.
“We now see GBV-related cases filed to court after our leaders were trained on GBV. In the past women were subjected to GBV but they used to keep quiet.
After knowing their rights through EFG and TAMWA training, they have now started reporting such cases, and culprits are punished by the law,” says Amina Juma, a resident of that area. She adds that once cases are reported, perpetrators are punished depending accordingly. Such a legal step has reassured women.
In Kiwalani, the number of GBV cases has gone down, because EFG efforts to teach women and the society at large to fight GBV have proved a lot of success, and effective strategies are being put into practice to end GBV in that area.