Teach them young H-METRO

As the year winds up, one of the most common stories we have seen in the media this year has been the domestic violence story.

As you read this there are many people who are not smiling in Zimbabwe because of domestic violence or gender based violence.

That is a crime that has haunted many, not just this year but for decades on end.

Sadly the violence has mostly been propagated against women and girls.

As we go into 2021, may we see less and less of the domestic or gender based violence.

The men in particular have to change soon and stop treating women like they are puppets or punching bags they can abuse willy nilly.

Most men who turn into violent husbands either grew up in a violent family where they witnessed their father assaulting their mother every chance he got or they were abused themselves growing up.

For our society to stop reasoning in a violent manner therefore, we need to start activism against gender based violence, or any other form of violence for that matter, in schools. We need to educate pupils as young as Grade Ones that violence is barbaric, that real men, or women, don’t fight.

We need to tell them that they have a right to live in a violent-free home, school and society and must report to superiors if they are subjected to any form of violence.

Teachers must therefore not be allowed to beat these pupils because by administering corporal punishment, teachers are saying to students, anyone who does something wrong must be beaten up. So should we be surprised when those students grow into abusive partners?

It is sad that many adults think if harmed physically, children can change aspects of their character to suit the adults’ preferences. That is a wrong and most unfortunate assumption.

Such acts are not only cruel and criminal but also the reason why many young people grow up into failures who lack confidence in themselves and trust in adults as people who are there to make the world safer for them.

Adults who put such fear in children deserve to be punished.

There is no way one can speed up a child’s understanding by physically hurting them. That is what kills every child’s love for school or learning.

These children deserve to be loved even if they do not return the affection.

Parents and teachers, please take note.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from 1991 but not much progress has been made through the campaign in this part of the world.

The reason is simple, we are tackling the problem from the wrong end.

Trying to educate grown up people who strongly believe violence can solve domestic problems is akin to teaching them Greek.