Gender based violence: Whose agenda is it?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Every year around this time, women who have been battered by their husbands and partners are thrust in the spotlight to share their experiences with the world on how they survived. There are painful stories where one questions why those acts could be inflicted on another human being. Listening to those stories can force a woman to stay celibate and never want to share a roof with another man. Stories of children who are being neglected and abused by their parents and guardians forcing them into the streets are also told.
After listening to those and you see the streets children you wonder what drove them away from their homes, you wonder where their parents are and whether they are well off or poor families. You wonder why their parents did not go out to look for them after they ran away. There are also untold stories of men who have being battered by their women, who are being laughed at by the police officers when they go to report and who resort to living with their abusive partners because speaking out will mean there are weaker than the fairer sex.
The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...