Initiative terminates 256 child marriages

Nkhata Bay District Gender Technical Working Group chairperson Isaac Mkandawire has commended the Spotlight Initiative for terminating 256 child marriages in the district.

He said this on Wednesday at Mpamba Trading Centre when Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati visited the district to appreciate the Initiative’s interventions in the fight against gender-based violence.

Mkandawire, who is also the district’s director of planning and development, said the initiative facilitated the prosecution of 64 gender-related cases.

“Through the project, we also have come up with coordination structures such as women’s groups, chiefs’ forums and community gender technical working groups where GBV cases are reported or sometimes resolved before being referred to police or courts,” he said.

Kaliati emphasised the importance of education as a major tool in ending violence against women and girls as well men.

She said when people are educated they know the disadvantages of GBV and they focus on development activities.

Said Kaliati: “It is also important for the youth to take time in a relationship before committing themselves into marriages.

“This gives them enough time to know one another and they can separate before getting married if they are not compatible.”

Traditional Authority Timbiri said chiefs in the district have enhanced efforts to eradicate cultural practices that fuel GBV.

“I commend coordination among the council, communities and organisations in the fight against GBV,” he said.

Implementing partners such as Purple Innovation, Girls Empowerment Network and Kandoli Youth Network showcased their interventions in the fight against GBV.

The partners also paraded GBV survivors who shared their stories.

Spotlight Initiative is a European Union-funded project running in several districts to fight violence against women and girls.