Men’s network starts gender teach-ins

THE Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development has launched training programmes for men and boys, traditional and religious leaders in sexual and reproductive health rights.

The network’s national coordinator Mr Nelson Banda said the programme is aimed at addressing early, child and forced marriages as well as other forms of Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in targeted districts.

Mr Banda said as an organisation that works with men and boys in gender programming, it is aware that traditional and religious leaders are very influential in communities and can support positive change and play a role in sexual and reproductive health rights for women and girls by speaking out against negative cultural norms that hinder the advancement of women and girls.

“We consider the involvement of men to address early, child and forced marriages as cardinal as men tend to benefit in marriage transactions when they receive dowry and other gifts when the girls are married off.

“Ironically the men also suffer the harsh economic consequences of looking after their daughters when the marriage collapses. Therefore, training men in sexual reproductive health rights, will be useful as they become advocates against negative cultural norms and will find solutions from a male perspective against early, child and forced marriages. The men will also be given opportunities to challenge their negative socialisation process that pushes them to look down on women and girls,” Mr Banda said.

Mr Banda explained that the boys in schools and communities after training will be empowered with information on sexual and reproductive health rights and positive masculinities so that they can begin to defend women and girls’ rights at a tender age and avoid actions that can lead them to be abusive men when they grow up.

He stated that after undergoing training, boys will form the Boys Network Clubs in schools and communities where they will be role models who will never remain silent about SGBV atrocities against women and girls.