Brig Gen Jack Nziza has cautioned Eastern Province leadership about the need to uproot and overcome the culture of encouraging Gender Based Violence (GBV). Nziza was talking Monday at Avega offices in Kigabiro Sector, Rwamagana district, in a meeting that attracted several authorities in the province, and was giving an over view on the problem of GBV in the country. ‘What we know about GBV is that it is quite minimal at the moment however it has been existent for a longtime due in part that it has the roots within our culture which supported it. Traditionally, one who could get unwanted pregnancy would be killed or taken to forests to be eaten by animals, or would be thrown into lakes and rivers, which was not right because this infact is an act of GBV’, he noted. He added ‘But what I wonder about, is what part of the blame could be apportioned to the male counterpart? It was the norm that the man would be allowed to go Scot free while the woman would be held responsible’. He said over time modern religious practices has contributed to changes within society but elements of GBV continues todate. Hence the need to fight the vice. Nziza pointed out that 90 percent of food consumed within the households is sourced principally through efforts of women. He however pointed out that while this is the case it is rather unfortunate that 65 percent of the poor are women. And though poverty is a problem in the country, it is thus more prone to hit women more than men. Cultural practices also dictated that most of the domestic and by extension food gathering chores be handled by women while the men’s role is mostly peripheral. To redress this the government has been promoting gender equality within society but such efforts needs to be boosted through support from men. ‘We have to first understand this vice ourselves, otherwise we will not get healed yet we have to get the solution to the problem ourselves. And this will be possible if we shed off some of the traditional thoughts and practises’, he added. The Governor of the Eastern Province, Ephraim Kabayija said that nothing compares to a women’s efforts geared towards offering antenatal care to a child from birth till adolescence. He added that men tend to neglect their responsibilities and he attributed this to the consumption of alcohol. ‘The problem is, when a girl aborts she is condemned straight away. But I think she should be asked if the male counter part is willing to shoulder his responsibilities in order to sort out the mess’, he explained. He asserted that in most cases girls abort due to desperation, a fact brought about by isolation by the concerned families and by extension the entire society. ‘They are normally denied their rights by the entire society as they are seen as a liability and a curse. However such cases should be treated with sympathy by getting to the bottom of the matter by finding the men responsible’. Ends
