A survey carried out in Zambia on attitudes to physical punishment
suggests that a large majority of women think it's acceptable for
husbands to use it against their wives:
A group of regional NGOs have condemned recent utterances made by Zambia's Minister of Defence, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, suggesting that ‘beating a wife is a sign of love' and ‘mild' forms of violence against women are acceptable where he comes from.
A group of regional NGOs have condemned recent utterances made by Zambia's Minister of Defence, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, suggesting that ‘beating a wife is a sign of love' and ‘mild' forms of violence against women are acceptable where he comes from.
The Zambia National Women's Lobby
(ZNWL), Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the Non-Governmental
Coordinating Council (NGOCC), Women in Law in Southern Africa (WILSA)
and Oxfam released a joint statement expressing outrage over the
Minister's retrogressive remarks which contradict and hamstring the
efforts being made to end gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.
"As a national leader who is supposed to
be a role model to young men in society, such statements are likely to
influence other men to justify violence against women in the name of
culture. We expect men who are in such trusted positions like Defence
Minister, to be at the forefront to protect women and secure the future
of our daughters," the statement read.
The NGOs are demanding that Mwamba shows
good and responsible leadership by retracting his utterances and
apologising to the nation for such a misleading statement. However, many
other gender activists across the SADC region are calling either for
Mwamba's resignation or that the Zambian government dismiss him from his
position as Defence Minister.
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