MWAKA LENGALENGA
Sioma
A GROWING number of men in Western Province are stepping forward to challenge harmful gender norms and become champions of gender equality following a positive masculinity and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention training facilitated by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).
The training, conducted as part of integrated food security and livelihood interventions, equipped community leaders, agricultural committee members and farmers with knowledge and skills aimed at preventing gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse within their communities.
For many participants, the training proved transformative, prompting them to reflect on their own behaviour and commit to creating safer environments for women and girls.
One participant, Evans Tiyeho, said the lessons learned will not remain within the training room, but will be shared widely across homes and communities.
“From our homes, we will scale it up to the communities, and from the communities, we will ensure that we integrate these interventions into any community gatherings,” he said.
Mr Tiyeho explained that before attending the training, many forms of abuse were normalised and not recognised by men as harmful behaviour.
“There was a lot of abuse which we were not aware of as men, but today we have been equipped with knowledge and we now know where to start from,” he said.
He admitted that the training challenged his own attitudes and actions within his family.
“Even me as an individual, I used to abuse my wife and children, but today I have learnt that this is wrong because I now have this knowledge,” he said.
One of the most eye-opening sessions focused on gender roles and responsibilities within households.
Mr Tiyeho said many men came to appreciate the disproportionate burden women carry in managing household responsibilities.
“Under gender roles, we noticed that women carry out more responsibilities than us men. We have realised that women need help from men,” he said.
He emphasised that supporting women with domestic work should not be viewed as a sign of weakness.
“It does not mean that when we cook we are compromised.
We need to conduct dialogues among fellow men so that we can interrogate some of these issues affecting our communities,” he added.
Participants also discussed the importance of respecting women’s rights and bodily autonomy.
Mr Tiyeho said men must understand that forcing a spouse into sexual relations without consent constitutes rape.
“We have learnt that we need to respect women even at household level. Whenever our wives are not ready to have sex with us, we need to respect their decisions. If we force them, it will be rape,” he said.
He further stressed that men should never demand sexual favours in exchange for assistance or services.
“A man should not ask for sexual favours for someone to be assisted. As men, that is the message we are going to take home,” he said.
The training also sparked discussions around harmful traditional practices, particularly initiation ceremonies for boys and girls.
Mr Tiyeho said some initiation practices expose children to abuse and can have long-term negative consequences.
“We are going to advocate against practices where boys as young as seven years are taken for initiation ceremonies because there is a lot of abuse that goes on there,” he said.
He also advocated for safer medical alternatives, particularly regarding circumcision.
“Traditional circumcision takes longer to heal, but when conducted at a hospital, the healing process is shorter and safer,” he said.
Kabisha Kayoyo, a farmer from Mbita Island, said the training helped participants appreciate the significant contributions women make within households.
“For instance, women wake up as early as 05:00 [hours] and do a lot of household chores, compared to men,” he said.
Mr Kayoyo explained that discussions also examined factors contributing to violence in homes, including alcohol abuse.
“We looked at things that perpetuate violence at household level, such as alcohol. This information will help us engage fellow men and transform some of the harmful social norms,” he said.
He noted that many men fail to recognise that verbal abuse and degrading comments directed at women are forms of gender-based violence.
“We learnt about different forms of GBV such as using bad language and making vulgar comments towards women,” he said.
According to Mr Kayoyo, deeply rooted social norms that portray women as inferior continue to drive abuse and discrimination.
“The training will help transform some of those norms,” he said.
Another participant highlighted the prevalence of sexual exploitation, particularly when women seek financial assistance or access to services.
“Sometimes, vulnerable women want financial assistance and men take advantage of the situation by asking for sexual favours without realising that this is an offence,” he said.
He explained that such practices can also occur within community structures responsible for distributing agricultural inputs and aid.
“At times, some people responsible for distributing inputs tell women they need to provide sexual favours before receiving assistance. We have learnt that this is wrong,” he said.
The participant stressed the importance of engaging men as allies in the fight against GBV.
“It is good for men to be engaged in the fight against GBV because men also have a responsibility to teach fellow men how to stop harmful practices that harm women,” he said.
He added that men should actively support women with domestic responsibilities.
“Women carry out a lot of work while we sit at home. We want to teach fellow men to help women with house chores because we also have hands and should not leave all the work to them,” he said.
Kalaluka Buyaita said the training encouraged participants to critically examine cultural practices that negatively affect girls’ education.
He cited initiation ceremonies that expose girls to teachings about marriage at an early age, contributing to school dropouts and teenage pregnancies.
“Some girls fail to complete school because of initiation ceremonies. They learn about marriage before completing school and eventually become pregnant because they want to practise what they have been taught,” he said.
Mr Buyaita called for engagement with traditional leaders to reform harmful cultural practices and promote education.
“Girls should be taught these things when they are older and have completed school.
We would also like to engage traditional leaders so that such norms can be amended,” he said.
Davy Siyauya of the Bunda tribe shared insights into the Mukanda initiation ceremony for boys.
He explained that boys aged between 10 and 15 undergo traditional circumcision and receive lessons on respect, responsibility and adulthood.
However, he acknowledged that some teachings reinforce rigid gender stereotypes, leading boys to believe that domestic tasks such as cooking are exclusively women’s responsibilities.
Paul Mwinga observed that some initiation practices may indirectly encourage early marriages by making young boys feel ready for adulthood and family life.
Although changing longstanding traditions may be difficult, he believes communities can adopt safer alternatives.
“This change has to start with us first in our homes. Instead of going the Mukanda way, we can go to the hospital,” he said.
YWCA assistant project coordinator Nathan Mungu said the organisation is integrating gender mainstreaming into food security and livelihood programmes implemented in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Mr Mungu explained that YWCA is building the capacity of agricultural camp committees and service providers to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and gender-based violence within aid distribution systems.
“We are training camp agriculture committees as trainers of trainers so that they can integrate these messages into food security and livelihood interventions,” he said.
The committees comprise individuals involved in distributing food, seeds and livestock to disaster-affected communities.
“The aim is to ensure that aid is never provided in exchange for sexual favours and that everyone can access assistance safely and fairly,” Mr Mungu said.
So far, YWCA has trained 50 committees across five districts in Western Province, including Sioma, Shangombo, Limulunga and Sikongo.
“Once they are equipped with this knowledge, the idea is for them to train others and create safe environments at distribution points,” he said.
Mr Mungu said feedback from communities indicates that cases of sexual exploitation and abuse have occurred in aid distribution spaces often because beneficiaries lacked information on where and how to report abuse.
Through the training, participants are now helping to spread awareness about reporting mechanisms, promote accountability and foster safer, more equitable communities.
