GBV a sign of cowardice—VP
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has described gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrated against women and girls as a sign of cowardice and a lack of God’s love.
Speaking at the launch of a four-year Oxfam Malawi campaign on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (Evawg), Chilima said the country’s GBV statistics call for collective effort between government, the civil society and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
He said: “Government will continue to put in place mechanisms in all sectors to ensure that legal and strategic frameworks such as the National Plan of Action on Gender-Based Violence and the many gender-related laws are indeed effectively implemented.”
The Vice-President condemned some practices by NGOs which implement seemingly nationwide projects that only benefit a few villages in a few districts.
“At the end, the monitoring cost is more than the investment in influencing change. Our thinking must change,” he said.
In his remarks, Oxfam Malawi country director John Makina said violence against women is a human rights violation, a major obstacle to women’s and girls’ development and a barrier to efforts to end poverty.
“As Oxfam in Malawi, we are committed to putting women’s rights at the centre of our work and that is why this campaign is important to our work,” he said.
The campaign is expected to reach out to about 6 million Malawians. It will be held under the theme: “Take Action and Say No to Violence Against Women”.
