Pamoza Tingakwaniska Youth Organization has called on adolescent girls and women in the area of Traditional Authority Mwakaboko in Karonga District to actively participate in peace building discussions in their communities.
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The call was made during a four day training that the organization conducted with 30 adolescent girls and women aimed at empowering them to play a role in fighting sexual gender based violence (SGBV) and ensuring that they are equally involved in peace building discussions.
Speaking on Friday after a four day training, Pamoza Tingakwaniska’s Programs Manager, Gomezgani Mhango emphasized that most times women are not well represented in peace building committees hence the training to empower them.
“Women are most times left out in committees that are involved in peace building and fighting SGBV discussions, so we are empowering them to make sure that they take part in such discussions and remind authorities to involve them in every discussion to do with peace building,” Mhango said.
Coordinator of Victim Support Unit for Karonga Police Station, Maxwell Chimphonda concurred with Mhango saying men are vocal in most of discussions to do with peace leaving out women and adolescent girls, he expects that the training will enable women to take part.
Gender officer for Karonga District has since hailed the training describing it as beneficial in the fight against SGBV and peace building discussions.
“This will help women and adolescent girls to be involved in peace building discussions unlike previously when they have not been taking part, this training has empowered them to take part in discussions and ask the authority in case they are not being involved,” she said.
One of the participants, Josephine Msowoya from Timanyane Safe Space, says the training has transformed them and they will now have the courage to play a role in making sure that they are involved in building peace.
“Now that we have been trained and empowered, we will be taking part in committees that are involved in peace building and we will not tolerate that we should be left out in the representations,” she said.
She has since asked fellow women and adolescent girls to refrain from looking down on themselves and begin taking part in peace building discussions.
Pamoza Tingakwaniska conducted the training through a peace building fund project with financial support from UNFPA through Foundation for Civic Education and Social Empowerment (FOCESE) in TA Mwakaboko a borderland district.
