Media briefed on bad culture

In 2016 the HIV/Aids prevalence for women in Katima Mulilo was double the national average, and statistic experts suspect this figure could be related to harmful cultural practices still practiced in parts of the Zambezi Region. A media training workshop on human rights and culture, conducted by the Women's Leadership Centre (WLC) in Katima Mulilo last week, provided journalists the opportunity to learn how their work could help promote human rights and expose harmful practices that impact girls and women across the country. A statement issued by the WLC said participants “were shocked to learn that over the past eight years, the HIV prevalence rate for women tested in Katima Mulilo was far higher than at any other testing site in the country.”Data collected through the bi-annual sentinel surveys of the health ministry found that in 2016, in the age group 25 to 49 years, 44.2% of Katima Mulilo women were living with HIV, compared to the national average of 24%.Liz Frank, WLC programme manager, said the workshop highlighted the fact that a number of cultural practices in the Zambezi Region can be classified as “child abuse and must be stopped to protect girls from violence and exposure to HIV/Aids.”Studies have shown that some communities still force young girls to stretch their labia minora, or practice 'sikenge', an initiation practice, which involves cutting and scarring the bodies of young girls.Moreover, in some communities, sexual readiness testing of girls by male relatives still takes place.The workshop was also attended by traditional leaders from three traditional authorities and community leaders who support cultural transformation which will help uphold the human rights of girls and women.“Traditional leaders and community members spoke out strongly against polygamy, forced marriage, widow inheritance, dry sex, widow cleansing, and high prices for lobola, stating that these practices violate women's rights to control their own bodies and lives, and fuel the high prevalence of HIV in Zambezi Region,” Frank wrote in the statement.The workshop moreover covered national laws and international instruments protecting the human rights of girls and women in Namibia, and analysed how these rights are violated by an array of harmful cultural practices in various communities across the country that expose girls and women to all forms of violence as well a high risk of contracting HIV/Aids. Participants welcomed recent recommendations form three United Nations human rights bodies to Namibia on the need to prevent harmful cultural practices and to protect women's rights.An action plan adopted by government on the implementation of the recommendations from a UN committee on promoting human rights for women was also applauded.The WLC has worked in Zambezi Region over the past 12 years on the need to prevent harmful cultural practices that subject girls and women to violence and a high risk of exposure to HIV and Aids. The media workshop was sponsored by the British High Commission in Namibia.In February, the British High Commissioner to Namibia, Jo Lomas, said at the opening of the WLC's conference on preventing harmful cultural practices in the Zambezi that the challenge is twofold.“Firstly it about building a realisation and a consensus amongst senior members of the community that these practices are harmful mentally and physically. That these practices are directly responsible for the higher incident of HIV/Aids in this region than in other parts of Namibia.”She added that it's “also about acknowledging that some traditions can and should change for the better without damaging those positive elements of this vibrant culture.”Moreover, Lomas underlined that “these girls, wherever they are in the world, need mentors, teachers, families who will instil them with confidence who will teach them that their bodies are their own and that they get to make the decisions.”JANA-MARI SMITH

Media briefed on bad culture

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

Please login to leave a comment

Media briefed on bad culture

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

Please login to leave a comment

Login