The commitment to bring domestic violence to an end and silence the wars in the home has seen the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence commemorated every year between November 25 and December 10.
Report by Phillip Chidavaenzi
Although successes have been recorded in the campaign, a lot of gaps still need to be filled.
The campaign is running on the same global theme as last year: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence against Women!”
Gender activists who spoke to NewsDay shared insights into sticky areas which they said needed to be addressed if the war against violence between the sexes was to be won.
Fungai Machirori, a women’s rights activist who runs the website Her Zimbabwe, said there was often a limited conception of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which was, however, far much deeper than the bruises and scars on women’s bodies.
“Before we even talk about the ills, I don’t think many people are aware of the various forms that gender-based violence takes. Many people equate GBV to physical violation only. But it’s a bigger issue than that as it encompasses verbal, psychological and mental abuse,” she said.
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Machirori, who is a journalist by profession and a prolific blogger, said although social media have spawned “cyber violence” they can, however, be effectively used in the fight against GBV.
“Because of the ubiquity of social media, you get a variety of voices adding their thoughts to a discussion. And this helps broaden people’s outlooks on issues. Violence begins in the mindset, so when a person is exposed to different mindsets, they are challenged to re-evaluate their position on issues,” she said. The stigma attached to domestic violence, she said, has forced many women into silence. She observed that although the Domestic Violence Act, passed into law in 2007, had scored successes in some areas, its implementation faced challenges.
“There is something that is very stigmatising about domestic violence that is keeping women, even those who know about the Domestic Violence Act, silent. The implementation of the Act itself is facing a lot of challenges and shortcomings, and also winning some successes. But I feel that many women are suffering silently still (due to) cultural and societal stigma,” she said.
She singled out ZiFM DJ Tinopona Katsande who challenged taboo by coming out in the open after she was allegedly bashed by her lover, Brian Munjodzi, early this month.
A gender and media consultant, Dorcas Hove, said the mainstream media’s negative portrayal of women often undermined the gallant fight against GBV and added that there was need for the campaign to be sustained throughout the year.
“Overall, mainstream media thrives on portraying women as commercial objects, thus overshadowing gallant attempts by a few who recognise women as equal human beings,” she said. “Secondly, considering the high levels of gender based violence, the media should not just highlight this scourge during the 16 Days period only, but throughout the year.”
She said it was important for the media to flag female role models to help diffuse negative perceptions against women, adding that the portrayal of women often incited violence against them.
“The media should give women role models in various spheres of life the exposure they deserve so as to change societal mindset,” she said. “As long as women continue to be portrayed as objects, violence against women will continue unabated.”
Msasa Project Advocacy and Legal Officer Tariro Tandi told NewsDay that the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act advanced women’s rights as it made them understand that violence against women in the home was not supposed to be private.
“The Act means domestic violence should be talked about and condemned. For us, it is a plus. Before the Act (was enacted) domestic violence was regarded as a private matter. Those who spoke about it publicly were not supported, but now you can go to the courts and get help,” she said. Tandi, however, noted that the issue of economic disempowerment among women had proved to be an impediment in the campaign against violence on women.
She said there had been widespread misinterpretation of the piece of legislation, particularly among men who felt the law was designed to imprison them, when it was crafted to bring harmony in domestic set-ups.
“There is a misconception of the Act because some feel it is meant to imprison the husband, but it’s meant to ensure that people live in harmony,” she said.
Tandi said it was unfortunate that it was wrongly assumed that it was normal in the traditional African culture for men to beat up their wives when traditional practices never condoned acts of violence.
“In our culture we don’t condone violence. That is a misinterpretation. In fact, in our culture we have ways of dealing with issues of husbands who use violence on their wives. We had cases where husbands were ordered to pay a chicken or a goat to wives after having used violence against them,” she said.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to many international instruments, protocols and tools which seek to protect and respect women’s rights such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the Covenant on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and has ratified the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development.
