WOMEN at Ngozi Mine informal settlement in Bulawayo have pleaded with the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) to help and educate men on gender-based violence (GBV) issues rampant in their area.
Economic challenges are forcing many people, including families, to settle at Ngozi Mine, a refuse dumpsite where they are surviving on picking up scrap metal and other things for recycling.
Over the weekend NewsDay visited the area and spoke to some women who said they have endured pain in their marriages due to being exposed to regular GBV.
“We are asking that women be at least given jobs to make ends meet because being here is as good as having no husband because there is nothing he can do to assist me with,” a woman who identified herself as MaMpofu told NewsDay.
“We look after the children and everything is on me, but the husband is there. We are settled here not by choice, but because of the economic situation.
“We survive by recycling waste and it’s not enough. When we get money, it is no longer mine when I get home. It now belongs to my husband.”
Village head Sithembile Ndlovu-Tshuma echoed the same sentiments saying the little money the women get was violently taken away by the men.
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“The men get that money violently, then the next thing they fight which becomes GBV. So we are asking the ZGC to look into this, sit down with men and teach them that women have their rights too,” Ndlovu-Tshuma said.
“Men should not insult women. There are some abuses which we go through physically and emotionally. This really affects a lot of women here. For example, if one is insulted, that won’t go away easily. We request that our men be taught on GBV. Women here are in a tough situation.”
Ndlovu-Tshuma said women take care of everything for the family while men don’t recognise the role they play.
“As it is, we are talking about children, we make sure this and that happens, they go to school and everyone eats. But then when he is told of the duties or if something is not well, one is told to make a plan.
“Many homes here have collapsed because of men who lack knowledge on GBV. They don’t respect women who they see as nothing and even harass them in front of the children which is not right,” she added.
Solani Maphosa said women suffer from abuse from men, especially those who are promiscuous.
“As it is, you are sitting at home, next thing you, hear your husband is now flirting and asking out your neighbour. Will there be life after that? This leads to fights all the time leading to issues of GBV,” she said.
Headman Gideon Tshuma said he was also going through emotional abuse from what was happening in the area.
“Looking at everything that is happening here, it’s not good at all. We have tried to assist where we can, but we need more assistance,” he said.
ZGC southern region manager Dalubuhle Sibanda said there was a programme targeted at such areas.
“In fact, we conducted a snap survey and interviews during the National Inquiry on Child marriages and sexual exploitation of young women and girls including those with disabilities, we discovered gross GBV-related cases.”
