BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Love is the starting point towards addressing and ultimately eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.
This has been said by Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini today (Monday, November 25, 2024), a day which has been widely accepted internationally as the start of the 16 Day of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Issuing his statement, the premier urged Emaswati and members of the international community to learn to love one another.
He quoted a Bible verse of 1 John 3:16 to 18, which says, “(16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (17) If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? (18) Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” The premier said if every one of the members of the public could apply this Biblical counsel, they could take a step in the right direction towards ending GBV.
Another thing that concerned the premier was the rate of suicide in the country. He said people had a tendency of taking their own lives, through many different means. These included hanging oneself from either a tree or other object, while some ingested Master 900 chemicals to end their lives. The prime minister believes that dialogue is also another solution to alleviate such unfortunate incidents, as problems were meant to be discussed, with an intention of being resolved.
He said His Majesty’s Government frowned upon the act of suicide and the act of violence committed on one another. The premier said people should stop killing one another and committing suicide, but they should move away from the people who could make them feel like they wanted to do things that were unacceptable, such as suicide and killing one another.
Today, organisations such as the Gender Consortium, Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), and Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) have come out to pronounce their stance against GBV. Gender Consortium Chairperson Nelisiwe Nhlabatsi called for bullying in schools to stop. She went as far as suggesting that people who perpertrated such an act should be put in custody, including teachers who used corporal punishment in schools.
ENPF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Futhi Tembe was of the belief that everyone should be educated about this unfortunate incident, so that they should know how to end it. She called for the involvement of girls and men in the education drive. She encouraged people not to feel threatened, but to speak out so that they could be helped.
EWADE CEO Samson Sithole described the fight against GBV as a journey which required active participation from everyone. He said his organisation was deeply committed to end GBV and he was happy to be at the forefront of such an organisation.
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign to prevent gender-based violence. It commences on 25 November in conjunction with the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls.
