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Andile Tshuma

When they have the right to make their own choices and are free from violence, women and girls live happier, healthier and more productive lives and pass on thee benefits to their families and communities.

Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if progress is made in addressing gender inequality and ensure that women and girls are able to make decisions about their bodies and their future.

However, this will be impossible if no efforts are made in engaging men and boys in ensuring that women and girls are protected and that their rights are not violated.

Engaging men and boys helps them locate their space and their responsibilities in the development agenda and also helps them see that they need women and girls as partners and equals in working for better communities.

While Zimbabweans and the international community are still reeling from the shock of the death of the Machaya young girl (Anna), a damning report has shown that the late Machaya was just one of many young girls and women who have no say on what happens in their lives, and are denied bodily autonomy.

Speaking at the launch of the State of the World Population report titled #MyBodyIsMyOwn at the World Population Day commemorations last week, Minister of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni called for communities to respect and honour constitutional provisions on the rights of women and girls.

“Child marriage is a violation of multiple rights of the girl child that include, denying her the right to education, right to health and well-being. It exposes the girl child to Gender Based Violence, HIV and other health related conditions. It puts the young mother and her child into a cycle of poverty,” said the Minister.

“The Constitution, the Supreme law of the country outlaws child marriage and clearly puts the age of marriage at 18 years. We continue to urge and encourage people from diverse backgrounds including religions and cultures to respect this Constitutional provision,” she said. The minister called for the involvement of every community member in delivering a gender equal society.

Health is essential to poverty eradication and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights are critical to advancing Gender Equality and the empowerment of women and adolescent girls. Lack of attention to SRHR contributes directly to maternal mortality, poor health and the disenfranchisement of women and girls. If women and girls are healthy they can learn, work, care for their families and reach their full potential.

In his solidarity remarks at the launch of #MyBodyIsMyOwn report, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr John Mangwiro acknowledged the support that the Ministry has been receiving from various partners towards improving the availability of SRH and SGBV services at various levels of care.

Dr Mangwiro said efforts must be made to ensure that everyone, particularly those in marginalised communities have access to SRH and GBV services.
“Our adolescents continue to face a myriad of sexual and reproductive health challenges including high rates of unplanned pregnancies, early child bearing and transmission of STIs including HIV. As we commmemorate World Population Day, we are reminded of the marginalised and the challenges they are facing in accessing SRH and SGBV services that are age appropriate, safe, equitable, affordable and accessible,” he said.

“Sadly we also remember thousands of young people who are morbid and have died due to avoidable and preventable Sexual Reproductive Health and GBV related cases,” said the deputy minister.

Nearly half of all women are denied their bodily autonomy, according to the new State of the world population report, #MyBodyisMyOwn.

The report showed that half of the women in 57 developing countries are denied their bodily autonomy or lack the power to make decisions over their bodies and that many women and girls are denied the right to decide whether to use contraception or seek health care, among many other issues cited in the report.

The report analyses developments and trends in world population and demographics.

Notably, this is the first time that a United Nations report focuses on bodily autonomy: the power and agency to make choices about your body, without fear of violence or having someone else decide for  you.

Through this report, described as ground breaking, UNFPA is measuring both women’s power to make their own decisions about their bodies and the extent to which countries’ laws support or interfere with a woman’s right to make these decisions. The data show a strong link between decision-making power and higher levels of  education.

According to the report, only 55 percent of women are fully empowered to make choices over health care, contraception and the ability to say yes or no to sex. Only 71 percent of countries guarantee access to overall maternity care. Only 75 per cent of countries legally ensure full, equal access to contraception.

The findings of this report are in tandem with what is unfolding in communities, where child marriages are rife, and maternal mortality is a reality when women fail to access SRHR services owing to various reasons.

The report shows that only about 80 per cent of countries have laws supporting sexual health and well-being while only about 56 per cent of countries have laws and policies supporting comprehensive sexuality  education.

The report also documents many other ways that the bodily autonomy of women and girls is compromised, revealing that at least 20 countries or territories have “marry-your-rapist” laws, where a man can escape criminal prosecution if he marries the woman or girl he has raped. At least 43 countries have no legislation addressing the issue of marital rape (rape by a spouse) while more than 30 countries restrict women’s right to move around outside the home.

This therefore shows he need to engage men and boys in championing the rights of girls and women.

The report highlights that in Zimbabwe, Gender Based Violence remains a huge problem affecting women and girls’ ability to make choices in their lives.

The 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) confirms that violence against women and girls is rife in Zimbabwe affecting 1 in 3 women regardless of geographic location, wealth or education.

Intimate partner violence is rife as many women are subjected to abuse and violence at the hands of intimate partners, while 90% of perpetrators are the husbands or intimate partners.

In addition, many young girls are married off at young ages to older men in the name of religion and others are married off to appease spirits (ngozi) for crimes they did not commit.

Despite all this, the constitution, particularly section 56, provides a strong framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and men, girls and boys in Zimbabwe and recognises the equality of all persons and goes further to explicitly outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sex or   gender.

Despite progressive laws and treaties in support of gender equality, the biggest challenge has been on the implementation of these formal rights and their translation into tangible gains for women and girls. While women and girls constitute 52% of the population, they still lag behind across key sectors in the  country.

Gender equality cannot be achieved without the involvement of men and boys. Change is slowly taking place, and men are increasingly working alongside women to support gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.-@andile_tshuma