EASTERN PROVINCE

The Kayonza district Vice Mayor, in charge of Social Affairs, Anita Mutesi, has urged men to get involved in fighting Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country.

"We know that violence is against both males and females, but we want men’s intervention more because many of them are reluctant to fight it, because they don’t believe it is there,” Mutesi said in an interview with The New Times, while commenting on the International Women’s Day, which was celebrated last Sunday on March 8.

She pointed out that the Women’s day should be an occasion to talk about GBV, because it is a platform where women and men can freely discuss, with each one knowing, the role he/she is supposed to play in the fight against domestic violence.

"We need men to share information about what is happening. There are some men who even deny that there is violence against women. They are the same people who don’t give it attention,” she said.

During the celebrations, she added, issues of women economic empowerment should be discussed because women are normally denied certain rights such as the right to family land. She stressed the importance of living in harmony at home, saying it fosters development.

Meanwhile, Alphonsine Murekatete, the Rwamagana Vice Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, says GBV is common in homes where former prisoners found their spouses pregnant or with children born to other men.

"Indeed unfaithfulness is not good; such time would be good for a woman to show heroism. But there is a failure, when men are released from prison, and they are told about the challenges they are expected to encounter back home and how to handle them,” she said, disclosing that the district has embarked on several measures to fight the vice.

These include pinning photos of perpetrators at sector offices, empowering women economically through cooperatives and setting up GBV clubs in villages. She explained that exposing the perpetrators has served the purpose as those who feel humiliated ask for forgives.

"It is through GBV clubs and dance troupes that men are sensitised against GBV because most men who understand GBV are leaders,” she noted, pointing out that this year’s theme, "Men and Women: United to end violence against women” will help change people’s mind.

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