Congo/ Kinkala: education clubs to combat violence against women
The husband's school and youth mini-club initiative was launched on March 15 in the capital of the Pool department, with the aim of amplifying the fight against violence against women and girls. Behavior-change awareness campaigns will be conducted in households and among young schoolchildren.
Husband schools and mini-clubs are based on a positive masculinity and family education approach. This initiative, supported by the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, the Integration of Women in Development and the Informal Economyreceived funding from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as implementing partner.
A total of twenty-five peer educators have been trained on the subject of gender-based violence, including sexual and marital assault, forced marriage, forced pregnancy or abortion, genital mutilation, stoning and disfigurement. The men's training session will be extended to three other departments: Plateaux, Likouala and Lékoumou, explained Nuptia Mbemba Talansi, program director at the Ministry for the Advancement of Women.
The introduction of husband schools and mini-clubs, according to the UN partners, aims to encourage men to adopt a positive masculinity in order to combat gender-based violence and promote sexual and reproductive health rights. More importantly, these platforms will offer in-depth training to men, while encouraging them to play an active role in promoting egalitarian and respectful relationships within their homes and communities.
Raising awareness for behavioral change is the way to achieve positive masculinity, said Daniel Ndokoma, the socio-cultural advisor to the Prefect of the Pool department. This local authority urged all stakeholders, in particular peer educators, schoolchildren, representatives of the ministry in charge, community leaders, including UN partners (WFP and UNFPA), to work harder to combat gender-based violence.
If behavioral change is considered the key to the fight, it requires the revision of certain stereotypes regarding the acceptance of support for women's empowerment, insisted Angèle Nsana Nzongo, Director General for the Promotion of Women. " Education, the first school of life, must also be nurtured and strengthened. That's why, as adults, parents and teachers, we know how to support our children, both girls and boys, within the school mini-clubs, which will be run by the pupils themselves in the school and family environment" , she stressed.
Like the other peer educators, Vivien Arnaud Nganga, coordinator of the Kinkala youth center, is determined to continue the fight for gender equality in his community. He insisted on the peer educators' requests to insert the session on family planning and gender-based violence into the national school curriculum, the creation of antenna slots dedicated to women's rights...
Source: www.adiac-congo.com
