Zambia: KATETE GIRLS ANTI-GBV PROJECT, GIRLS EMPOWEREMENT


Date: July 13, 2018
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The project’s purpose is to promote girls rights through life skills education and HIV/AIDS prevention, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education through community awareness campaigns and capacity building for both in and out of school.

It is a good practice as it provides girls with knowledge and skills to empower their capacities in enhancing self-awareness, communication and assertiveness, and also in promoting self-esteem in fostering sexual behaviour change. The project is innovative because it provides stakeholder participation in ensuring that girls utilise and realise their potential in achieving their intended goals in life while enhancing behaviour change.

The project aims to promote girls empowerment through gender, HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health awareness and education. The project was initiated due to high levels of the girl child vulnerability enhanced by the negative cultural and traditional practices that influence girls to indulge in to sexual activities which has mostly resulted into them being victims of rape, sexual harassment, incest and gender-based violence.

The negative cultural beliefs have enhanced inadequate opportunities for girls to access education because most families value the boy child than the girl child. This has also influenced more girls to go into forced marriages or falling pregnant as teenagers while some enter into prostitution activities and become vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection.

The project has benefited about 1000 beneficiaries directly. The project also reaches about 5000 indirect beneficiaries. The beneficiaries become empowered through leadership and entrepreneurship skills.

The project has a strong monitoring and evaluation framework. There are meetings held quarterly whereby monitoring is done through a form of questionnaires. Follow up visits are done every month to monitor the progress of women in business.

Some of the challenges faced include inadequate funding to sustain the projects ran by women. Cultural practices that favour men than women also limit women’s capabilities which becomes a challenge. Some cultural practices promote patriarchy and disallow women stand for themselves without men being involved, economically and socially. Hence, young girls find themselves being trapped in transactional relationship and/or prostitution. In addition, early marriages, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy and child abuse is the challenge faced when trying to empower women and young girls.

Mary Tembo says, “I am grateful for the knowledge that I have received through this organization which has empowered my leadership and entrepreneurship skills, and also taught me how to save through village banking. The money which I saved has enabled me to buy farming inputs for my farm, food and send my children to school.” Men are now allowing women to take up decision making positions, and they are realizing the importance of taking a girl child to school.

The community is slowly evolving from its toxic cultural beliefs against young girls and women. There is a very positive attitude towards gender equality. Both girls and boys are granted equal opportunities when it comes to education. Moreover, women are being empowered economically, like training them to be good entrepreneurs.

 

 


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