Leaders reject harmful cultural practices
Activists from the Zambezi Region say local cultures should be transformed in order to root out gender violence.
Grassroots activists from the Zambezi Region are breaking the silence on the national stage to speak out against destructive cultural practices, despite the adversity they face at home and the wall of silence from the government and the rest of the country on the topic.
“We love our culture, but the main point is that we want to transform our culture to protect women's rights and health,” Gilbert Liswaniso, a senior councillor from Bukalo said yesterday at a media conference on transforming cultures to protect girls and women from violence and HIV/Aids in Windhoek. He has joined a number of Zambezi community facilitators, who under the helm of the Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), have decided to speak out about what many still consider a culturally taboo topic that must be kept out of the public spotlight.
“It is an insult to speak about these harmful cultural practices,” a teacher and a long time WLC coordinator in the region, Berrithar Sitali, explained.
The grassroots activists say practices such as genital maiming and body scarring, forced dry sex and regular beatings, widow 'cleansing' and 'obedience training' still take place frequently.
“We love our own culture but we want to ban harmful cultural practices. We are not saying we want to abolish our culture, we are only trying to transform it,” Sitali said.
She added that if the aim is to teach young girls how to behave, or care for a family, that is fine, but beating them into submission is not the way to do it.
She warned that some practices, such as forcing women to have dry sex, also expose girls and women to unwanted pregnancies, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.Moreover, dry sex can rip families apart when the women flee their marriages because they refuse to take part in the painful and risky behaviour.
Sitali said talking to communities and trying to convince them to ban some practices was not an easy task.
“It wasn't easy to approach our traditional leaders, but when we explained to them that HIV is the highest in our region, and maybe if we stop these harmful cultural practices, the HIV rates will drop, and then we started convincing them bit by bit, bit by bit.”
Explaining the Namibian Constitution and educating people about their rights under Namibian laws has also helped to transform ideas about healthy and unhealthy cultural practices. And the activists warn that it is not only the Zambezi Region that is grappling with harmful practices that remain part of daily initiation rituals for girls and women.
“Today we have travelled a long distance to say that we as traditional leaders, not just from the Zambezi Region, but from all corners of Namibia, should join this cause and help advise our people,” said Bernard Namita, a traditional leader who joined the cause after being urged by his sister-in-law last year. Liz Frank of the Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), described the community facilitators, including a number of men and women in respected positions, as “human rights defenders who want to be part of the new Namibia that protects the human rights of women and girls.”
Moreover, their work could save lives. The 2016 National HIV sentinel survey found that HIV prevalence in the Zambezi Region, of 44.2%, is close to double the national average of 24% for women aged 25 to 49.
For women aged 15 to 24 years, HIV prevalence nationally is 8.5%, while it is 24.3% in the Zambezi Region and also the highest in the country.
The activists warn that more stakeholders need to come on board, to help increase their outreach programmes and effectiveness.
“It is high time to make a change. People need to be taught in rural areas of their human rights. It is happening all over Namibia. Why are they so quiet? Do they want these things to happen?” Namita asked.
He said Namibian women have the right to feel free and live in peace.
JANA-MARI SMITH
“We love our culture, but the main point is that we want to transform our culture to protect women's rights and health,” Gilbert Liswaniso, a senior councillor from Bukalo said yesterday at a media conference on transforming cultures to protect girls and women from violence and HIV/Aids in Windhoek. He has joined a number of Zambezi community facilitators, who under the helm of the Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), have decided to speak out about what many still consider a culturally taboo topic that must be kept out of the public spotlight.
“It is an insult to speak about these harmful cultural practices,” a teacher and a long time WLC coordinator in the region, Berrithar Sitali, explained.
The grassroots activists say practices such as genital maiming and body scarring, forced dry sex and regular beatings, widow 'cleansing' and 'obedience training' still take place frequently.
“We love our own culture but we want to ban harmful cultural practices. We are not saying we want to abolish our culture, we are only trying to transform it,” Sitali said.
She added that if the aim is to teach young girls how to behave, or care for a family, that is fine, but beating them into submission is not the way to do it.
She warned that some practices, such as forcing women to have dry sex, also expose girls and women to unwanted pregnancies, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.Moreover, dry sex can rip families apart when the women flee their marriages because they refuse to take part in the painful and risky behaviour.
Sitali said talking to communities and trying to convince them to ban some practices was not an easy task.
“It wasn't easy to approach our traditional leaders, but when we explained to them that HIV is the highest in our region, and maybe if we stop these harmful cultural practices, the HIV rates will drop, and then we started convincing them bit by bit, bit by bit.”
Explaining the Namibian Constitution and educating people about their rights under Namibian laws has also helped to transform ideas about healthy and unhealthy cultural practices. And the activists warn that it is not only the Zambezi Region that is grappling with harmful practices that remain part of daily initiation rituals for girls and women.
“Today we have travelled a long distance to say that we as traditional leaders, not just from the Zambezi Region, but from all corners of Namibia, should join this cause and help advise our people,” said Bernard Namita, a traditional leader who joined the cause after being urged by his sister-in-law last year. Liz Frank of the Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), described the community facilitators, including a number of men and women in respected positions, as “human rights defenders who want to be part of the new Namibia that protects the human rights of women and girls.”
Moreover, their work could save lives. The 2016 National HIV sentinel survey found that HIV prevalence in the Zambezi Region, of 44.2%, is close to double the national average of 24% for women aged 25 to 49.
For women aged 15 to 24 years, HIV prevalence nationally is 8.5%, while it is 24.3% in the Zambezi Region and also the highest in the country.
The activists warn that more stakeholders need to come on board, to help increase their outreach programmes and effectiveness.
“It is high time to make a change. People need to be taught in rural areas of their human rights. It is happening all over Namibia. Why are they so quiet? Do they want these things to happen?” Namita asked.
He said Namibian women have the right to feel free and live in peace.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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