M. Swallows, SWAGAA show ‘Red card to GBV’

MBABANE – The Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has partnered with Mbabane Swallows in a drive to curb gender-based violence (GBV). The partnership dubbed ‘Red card to gender based violence’ was launched on Friday at Sigwaca House by the Chairperson of the organisation, Reverend Senzo Hlatjwayo. The occasion was graced by SWAGAA Director Nonhlanhla Dlamini, Mbabane Swallows Official Welile Mabuza, and Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Football Manager Pat Vilakati and Swallows supporters.

Hlatjwayo said the partnership was a brainchild of Umkhonto KaShaka, who had a dream to curb GBV through football and as an organisation which handled such cases in the country, they welcomed the idea. “Swallows came to us with the idea of educating their technical staff, players and supporters about this issue and we are targeting the derby to help Swallows in their drive to educate the public on gender-based violence,” Hlatjwayo said.

GOAL

The reverend said they were hopeful that the ‘marriage’ they had with the red and white capital city giants would yield the desired results and would open doors for other teams to help them curb GBV in the country.

He also said they were calling the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to declare GBV as a national emergency. “We are happy about this marriage as we have seen a rise in violence in games yet this should be a place where people meet and refresh,” he said.

He further urged supporters to end violence during games as such behaviour had negative effect for local football in terms of luring sponsors.

Meanwhile, the Director, Nonhlanhla Dlamini, said as an organisation, they were happy about the partnership and for Swallows to take the lead in the fight against GBV. She said they would provide lessons for all the team’s stakeholders. On the other hand Swallows’ Welile Mabuza said they were happy to partner with SWAGAA and were hopeful that this would yield the desired results.