16 Days Of Activism Against Gender Violence. ‘For The Health Of Women, For the Health of the World: No More Violence

With the theme ‘For the Health of women, For the Health of the world: NO MORE VIOLENCE, the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices believes in the phenomenon that womanhood is not only a stage in life but a cycle of growth in life that is characterized by a true struggle of a female person divinely created to live on the face of the earth and to contribute effectively, efficiently and collectively to the common ideal of progressive development of human and human society.

The youth component of GAMCOTRAP realizes that without equal access to information and education for mankind, there will not be any form of effective empowerment and application. Therefore with the theme of this year’s 16 days of activism which is characterized with different important events that are of global concern. The health of women and the girl child is recognized as a very fundamental aspect of human development that is so attached to life and for the right to life, which is the principal and the mother of all rights without which, all other rights become unnecessary.

Looking at the vulnerability of young people in terms of health, GAMCOTRAP has made immense contributions through its youth programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights in all the administrative divisions of the country to discuss with adolescent and youths about such issues as it affects their lives in terms of health and their social relations.

The organisation had conducted series of training and sensitization programmes on gender and health issues and Socio-cultural practices that are been imposed on the girl child from birth to adulthood.

The issues that are being discussed and given attention are not specific to the women who are victimised already but they also focused on children and young people in order to protect them from such social problems in their societies that could lead them to become subordinate to men and that succumb them to harmful traditions that are characterized by society. Therefore, the focus on the younger generation, is through empowerment and also to help rehabilitate those who are affected in recent times. GAMCOTRAP and all other partners in the promotion and protection of the girl child and the woman have given this issue a priority.

Collaboration and partnership is therefore key and the only way to realise an effective indicator for success. The Youth Advocacy of GAMCOTRAP in its efforts to address these issues has collaborated with different Divisional Committees, Youth organisations and other partners in both strengthening and facilitating the process.

During this year, one programme has been conducted in the North Bank Division through the Divisional Youth Committee. Young people were drawn from different villages of the community to discuss on Socio-cultural issues. The outcomes have reflected the true scenario of the suffering that young girls go through from childhood to their youthful age. One of the Socio-cultural issues; Female Genital Mutilation is highly practiced in this particular division and with accurate information and without any form of influence, they have made their own choice through empowerment to vow not to continue the practice or impose it on their children. This is likely to be hindered by the society since as young people, they find it extremely difficult to break through on their own without technical backup.

The Divisional youth committee in Western Division has been also very instrumental in mobilizing young people from different places in the western division for another three days programme. This area is also characterized by a very good number of young people who needed information and where given prime attention in this light with cohesive collaboration to discuss health, gender, as well as issues related to tradition. It has been seen as a prerequisite to disseminate information among the youths, as it is inevitable for the realization of a healthy and violence free youth population.

Other programmes have been conducted in Gunjur Kombo South for young people. Recently, the young people of this region where recalled for a follow up evaluation and tremendous outputs has been realized within the town and nearby villages. This has led to proposals from the youths to form a network of young advocates in Kombo south to discuss gender and health issues which they realized have been seriously impeding their progress especially the girl, children and youths.

In Fatoto URD, a youth advocacy has been in existence since the beginning of the year. These youths were trained by the youth component of GAMCOTRAP on health information issues. They have been doing coherent community work on their own using their own meager resources just to show how passionate and committed they are about the issues as it affects their lives.

The essence of this is that young people need information right from the beginning in order to utilize such information into the transformation of the odds of society to positive and progressive ways of life for humanity free from violence and abuse as well as subjugation of women and denial of basic needs and facilities for the girl child. Therefore the theme is not only a theme that people should see as women’s issue but a total development issue, for development entails but men and women with equal opportunity and participation. If women are not health, society cannot be healthy for they are the ones that nurture society considering their reproductive roles. Their ‘domestic’ roles could also be affected.

Assistance has also been given to a lot of young people both male and female in difficult circumstances. Others have been supported in the area of education, which include male youths in the Gender and Development training of the Management Development Institute and other one has completed the course two years back.

This is done not only to empower the female youths but the male youths as well with the belief that gender is about men and women. This will help to avoid future violence on women, as men become aware of the issues. This does not signify that the literate ones do not perpetrate violence on women and girls on selfish grounds.

Gender based violence is not only a problem of the poor or the adults as mostly attributed, but it has been found to be a cross cutting issue for both adults and the young people and through the Socio-economic class ( common within middle class and the rich among society). In fact these are women who are also suffering in silence and could not speak out about their predicaments due to gear and suppression.

It has been realized through the youth programmes that child spacing, mutilating the girls without their consent, forcing girls to have sex through a marriage that they did not give consent to (marital rape) all due to forced marriage are greatly violating the fundamental rights of girls. Many have come up case studies of situation of violence on girl with a case of a 13 year old girl who belongs to an ethnic group that does not practice female genital mutilation, she was kidnapped and mutilated because she dears uses public road. She was abused and her rights violated without any consent.

With this type of situation, sexual harassment and rape has been inflicted on girls for using or going out to a particular place or at a particular time of the day or night. In work places, women and young girls are coerced into sex for favours that are their right as workers. It they are not strong to stop such sexual advances, they are labeled as rude, proud, or even denied their dues in the workplace.

The policies and laws are not specific to the protection of women. When violence occurs in the home, the victim is usually the person that is blamed. If cases reach the police it is termed as a family problem, unless a life is lost, it is not seen as violence. The recent children’s act attempts to protect children that is people who a under eighteen years, this leads to a question of abuse on a girl who is above 18 years; what is there to protect her?

Young girls are given the opportunity to express their problems in our programmes in relation to marriage, FGM and they could not defend themselves neither could they get help. They have used the opportunity to talk to GAMCOTRAP through the Cynthia Davies Reproductive health center for counseling.

Essentially, if young people (male and female) are left out of the discourse, there can never be guaranteed health status for the future generation of women and the issue of violence can never be solved. The public must make this 16 days of Activism a moment in life that all will be aware of the issues raised about the significance of the health of women and to ensure that all forms of violence are eliminated from our societies thus, we shall be victors without victims.