Zimbabwe: Classance Petro

Fact file:

Being a male in leadership feels just right, it appears like there is just no room for anyone else but men. It is through gender links that Classance first got the enlightenment that leadership and governance is for anyone who deserves and gender is not a determining factor.

’Having been socialised by the patriarchal society, male chauvinism and superiority appears to be the common norm. It would then contradict with my family background, coming from a family that preaches gender equality, equality of gender roles and opportunities going to the ones who deserve despite gender. It was quite contradictive and confusing until I became a Junior Councillor and met Gender links. Deep inside I knew that boys and girls deserve equal opportunities but I did not know how to advocate for that.’

Gender Links then came to my rescue in 2019 when I was doing MY lower 6. I was part of the Epworth Junior Council campaign team in the 16 days of activism against GBV which was sponsored by Gender Links in 2019, and 2020 respectively and when I attended the Junior Mayors and Town Clerks forum in Beitbridge in 2020 February. In the 16 days of activism against GBV in 2019,I discovered my talent in acting as I featured as the main actor in a drama which was telling a story of an abusive father to his wife and the family. I then deduced a lesson from that drama on how bad abuse or violence against women is or even violence in general.

After the conference I went back to my community to now start implementing the newly acquired knowledge with the adequate empowerment I had received. This is when my journey of Gender Mainstreaming started with a full toll. I started visiting schools, conducting awareness campaigns on GBV and SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE AND HEALTH RIGHTS. Through these sessions, I realised that not only talking needs to be done but also action has to be implemented. In Epworth there were daily reports of youths abusing their female counter parts and the girls who had no sanitary pads but using rough clothes and sometimes not. Truly speaking I was heartbroken upon discovering this, this was heavy for me to bear. This marked the birth of RESPONSIBLE BROTHER CLASSANCE (RBC) on the 28th of October 2020 my birthday of sanitary pads distributions to the girls in Epworth. I then sourced them from other organisations, who then responded positively. I then distributed those sanitary pads to 200 vulnerable girls who were identified by my fellow junior councillors in Epworth. In terms of violence against women and girls, me and my fellow councillors held online awareness campaigns on GBV and CONFLICT MANAGENT that had a significant response from our community.’’

After the sanitary wear campaigns,I started working on awareness campaigns on drug and substance abuse as well as early pregnancies and early marriages amongst the young people in Epworth. The time I spent interacting with young people of my age, made me realise that life was a matter of survival. Through sharing their life stories, I figured most of them were actually talented but their talents had no one to expose. These campaigns proved effective as I started noticing young girls approaching me and asking for further enlightenment on women empowerment, even young boys developed an interest in respecting the opposite sex and working together as young people despite gender differences.

The journey with Gender Links did not end there, unfortunately we suffered from the Covid 19 pandemic, and all the social events were banned and this meant meeting again with Gender Links was made difficult. However, the team started conducting online surveys during the lockdown period. The online surveys equipped us with knowledge on how we are lagging behind in terms of development in line with gender. It was easier to reach many young people at once through social media handles particularly WhatsApp. However, this method disadvantaged those from marginalised areas as they could not have access to the online discussions due to bad connection or the absence of electronic gadgets to access social media. That was the greatest barrier caused by the deadly pandemic.

As an individual Gender Links has helped me to discover myself. I have been able to trail blaze a path that I see fit for myself through Gender Links as well as Junior Council. It is through my encounters with these two organisations that I have been able to set my priorities right and discovered that my major drive is my love for humanity.’

I owe much of my work and achievements to Gender Links and National Junior Councils Association for showing me that anything is possible, anyone can be an agent of change in their society. Being a young man, I have taught myself to respect ladies and actually work side by side with them for the development of our nation. I must admit that I am really grateful to Gender Links for the platform to air out our views and areas of concern when handling gender issues through the online surveys. It was a great platform for me as an individual to appreciate differences between men and women and complement each other.

From this journey, I resolved to continue advocating for equal opportunities between men and women.I will continue the fight against Gender Inequalities. Through sessions with Gender Links and help from other organisations, I look forward to building a generation free from oppression because of one’s biology.

Above all, my wish is for Gender links to reach out to more people and impact their lives like they did with mine.