There is nothing more inspiring than seeing people from various backgrounds come together for one cause – to put an end to Gender Based Violence (GBV). The past 16 days were aimed at doing just that as ArtGlo participated in the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (for more on this, read here). Through our work with Technical and Vocational Colleges (TVC’s) institutions from around Malawi and events at our ‘Green Door’ hub, we were able to not only explore solutions to end GBV but also showcase how people are using creative talents to foster change.
The 16 days against GBV had a collection of sport activities which included Nasawa TVC (Zomba, Malawi) that had a football match between the TVC and a local community soccer group. A few students went on the mic with story-telling on the importance of ending sexual abuse and knowing consent. One of the local community members in attendance said they were excited to attend to see the youth participate in healthy activities and gain more knowledge about GBV at the same time. This was also mirrored at Chilobwe TVC (Blantyre, Malawi) game day commemorating the “16 days” and an interesting scene emerged. One of the community secondary school attendees had asked to play in the next football match – which was all male – and she did! The crowd cheered her one and the players chanted “let’s end GBV!” proudly. These events are sparking awareness on how gender roles have an influence on GBV and why there is need to challenge them. Such exposures have also been shown in other TVCs we have worked with, you can read more here.
More artistic events took place during the 16 days as Aida Chilembwe TVC (Chiradzulu, Malawi) set the pace with an all-round talent show that had people in the room hyped and ready to do more to end GBV. One of the highlights was on a debate on the importance of reporting GBV and those that opposed mentioned that “the society will regard them as they are stupid to have been exploited”. The effects of not reporting were overwhelming and it was unanimous that the audience agreed that it is vital to report. There was also a play on sexual exploitation where an instructor impregnated a farmer’s daughter and paid bride-price in a form of a bicycle to marry the underage girl. The crowd was hyped and exclaimed “amangidwe!” (he should be arrested) even before the police came on the scene. The discussion brought up a clear awareness of the channels for reporting GBV cases. There was an exchange of contact details of authorities to report to and some students had shown interest to want to establish a drama club that will be used to sensitize fellow community members on GBV.
Moving to our home-ground, the Green Door Hub (ArtGlo offices, Zomba, Malawi) Valentino Morrison showcased his debut Malawian made film: Tales in Hot Tide. The film screening exposed the hidden cruelties of rape and sexual harassment of people in positions of power in a Malawian context. Valentino also narrated the film and said he was motivated to tell the stories of females who had experienced Gender Based Violence and were told to remain silent. A conversation on reporting gender based violence followed naturally from the screening, and the audience made it clear that victim blaming is a part of rape culture that has to be eliminated in our society.
We wrapped up the campaign with a poetry slam that had talented poets, spoken word and musical artists showing their talent under the aforesaid theme. Acoustic upcoming artists Mtameni and Lidia had the stage in awe with their pieces. Alongside them were rapper D O Dub and Kas – who did soulful spoken word pieces around the theme, and Monica (author of poetic book Fruition) set a subtle mood with poetry. For more on their performances, click here. The Chancellor College Gender Justice Clinic (GJC) executive members were in attendance and held a fruitful discussion on GBV from student’s perspectives. They were applauded for their passion to want to educate more students on GBV and the necessity to report it. One lady in the audience – a professional nurse- offered a helping hand to provide counselling for the students exposed to GBV as well as train the GJC members on how to do the same. This is a special highlight as it shows the importance of unity in combatting GBV across our communities.
To view the amazing highlights of the past 16 days, click here. ArtGlo’s project tackling GBV in Technical Colleges is supported through the Skills and Technical Education Programme (STEP), an initiative partially implemented by UNESCO with funding from the EU. For more on this project, do visit our website and social media pages @artgloafrica.
Tagged: UNESCO, @STEPMalawi, @TEVETA, @EUinMalawi, Malawi Government
