Marie Anne Lasile – Mauritius

The workshop that Gender Links facilitated has been a very enriching experience for Marie Anne Lasile. She said that from now on, she will read newspapers will a gender lens. “I changed my way of reading a newspaper. I never thought that the media was so gender blind, but now I see that women are so absent in the media. Not only in terms of voices but even in images. l never thought that there would be so much gender inequality.” She learnt that it is very important to read between the lines, and also to read articles with a critical eye as there could be hidden messages. The session on subtle stereotypes and gender discrimination in the media, proverbs, songs and other medium was revealing for her.

Lasile is part of an NGO helping and accompanying women during and after their pregnancy. This NGO is called MAM (Movement d’aide Á  la maternité). She met Gender Links in one of the meetings of MAM. Since that day she was interested in working with Gender Links. “I was so impatient to know more about the work of Gender Links, on how it helps to bring change in the community.” She said she got her chance when she was invited to attend the Centres of Excellence workshop for five villages of Black River.

This was not the first time that she heard some terms relating to gender; she had a good grasp of them. “The NGO I work with uses gender specific terms, but Gender Links went even further.” But what really shocked her was to know about the actual statistics of Gender Based Violence in Mauritius. This workshop was so interesting that she was active asking questions and also giving her point of view.

This workshop has given Lasile the opportunity to become more aware of the sad reality of our society, and this will help her to raise awareness in her community, and also in the NGO she works for. Even if she is not a village councillor or a district councillor, she really appreciates the fact that she is able to talk on behalf of her village to the district and village councillors about the problems that they are facing.

There were some terms that Lasile had heard about, but the GL workshop was the very first that she learned about the difference between sex and gender. Learning about this gender concept helped change her way of thinking. Emotional violence is something that made her realise a simple comment can hurt someone. This form of violence is not denounced to the police, as people fear of the reaction of others. This workshop has helped her change her analysis and view of society.

“Loga Virahsawmy during her presentation on Gender Based Violence has clearly shown us the problem that our society is facing and this was highlighted by Herve Aimee, Minister of Local Government and outer Islands. It cannot be possible that still now in 2013 women are still victims of violence, the world has changed at least the people also should change.ÌŽ

Lasile was able to develop critical media literacy skills. When she reads newspapers, she does it with new eyes. She has also developed her personality; before she was afraid to ask questions, but now she feels more confident in herself and is ready to talk to people in order to sensitize them on the different problems, especially the violence that our society is facing. “When we were talking about domestic violence we did not realise the real impact it has on our society but what would be great is if Gender Links organised workshops for men also maybe this can help in changing their way of seeing things but also their behaviour.”

Lasile gained a lot during this three day workshop that she will put in practice in her work, and raise awareness in her community. This workshop has helped her develop critical skills. She is grateful to the staff of Gender Links; from now on she will not be afraid to talk.