Oxfam on Wednesday facilitated a key stakeholders gender mainstreaming and protection training at Nsanje District Council to amplify the issues of rights and responsibilities as the humanitarian response drive continues in Makhanga.
The group photograph from the Oxfam trainingThe training attracted 30 participants from police, social welfare, civil society The training at Nsanje District Council
Key issues under discussion included enabling gender mainstreaming in roles, policies and programmes as well as its relationship with human rights.
Social Welfare Assistant for Nsanje District Council, Emmanuel Mbenuka, expressed hope that the participants will be influential in ending gender based violence, gender inequality and reinforcing gender mainstreaming in their various roles.
“This has been a very fruitful training, a refresher to some of us and an eye opener to others. Issues under discussion will be utilized in ensuring women empowerment and reporting any cases of gender related abuse to relevant authorities,” said Mbenuka.
Nsanje Police Victim Support Unit Coordinator, Sergeant Justin Kadwala, called on stakeholders in the district to work collaboratively to stop abuses and violence against vulnerable groups. He said failure to do so incapacitates efforts to reach out to many.
“Everyone needs to be empowered with information and we need that joint approach to deal with gender inconsistencies, abuses and exploitation. NGOs, government, religious leaders, traditional leaders and members of the community need to join hands to report abuses and support survivors of gender based violence,” explained Kadwala.
The training attracted 30 participants from the police, social welfare, civil society and other government departments like information, disaster and education from the district.
“We thank the people of Nsanje for participating in this crucial training. We look forward to a more proactive collective approach in making issues of gender equality, mainstreaming and protection amplified and embraced by all.
“Addressing gender based violence is everyone’s responsibility and we are optimistic that this training will go a long way in tackling it,” said Lindiwe Jere, Oxfam in Malawi Humanitarian Gender Officer.
