News / National
Marital rape prevalent
24 Nov 2013 at 11:54hrs | Views
MOST married women in Zimbabwe have experienced marital rape at the hands of their spouses, greatly exposing them to HIV and Aids, a cabinet minister has said.
Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development minister, Oppah Muchinguri told female legislators attending a conference on ending sexual violence that many women were being raped by their husbands and partners.
"All of you in this room who are married or have a partner, have been raped at some point," she said to a thunderous applause.
The director of The Women's Trust (TWT) Memory Kachambwa told the legislators that women generally had a culture of silence whereby they do not speak out about issues that affect them like gender violence which increases their chances of getting infected.
"This culture of silence is so entrenched in societal norms which do not recognise women's contributions. Women are violated all the time because of their position in the society," she said.
Kachambwa said women were brought up to be insecure beings that had to depend on men and that put them in a risky position which is made worse by gender-based violence.
A legislator from Masvingo, Monica Chigudu said the issue of paying lobola had also contributed to women's vulnerability.
"When a man pays for his bride, he thinks he has purchased a property that he can use to his discretion.
This is where we are facing challenges because the women are now like owned properties and have no rights whatsoever," she said.
Women generally are vulnerable to HIV and Aids and according to the Millennium Development Goals Report for 2012, they have a higher prevalence (18%) than that of men (12%).
This figure increases if a woman is married or in a long-term relationship where her role is lowered in accordance with social norms which permit men to be in control of everything.
Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development minister, Oppah Muchinguri told female legislators attending a conference on ending sexual violence that many women were being raped by their husbands and partners.
"All of you in this room who are married or have a partner, have been raped at some point," she said to a thunderous applause.
The director of The Women's Trust (TWT) Memory Kachambwa told the legislators that women generally had a culture of silence whereby they do not speak out about issues that affect them like gender violence which increases their chances of getting infected.
"This culture of silence is so entrenched in societal norms which do not recognise women's contributions. Women are violated all the time because of their position in the society," she said.
Kachambwa said women were brought up to be insecure beings that had to depend on men and that put them in a risky position which is made worse by gender-based violence.
A legislator from Masvingo, Monica Chigudu said the issue of paying lobola had also contributed to women's vulnerability.
"When a man pays for his bride, he thinks he has purchased a property that he can use to his discretion.
This is where we are facing challenges because the women are now like owned properties and have no rights whatsoever," she said.
Women generally are vulnerable to HIV and Aids and according to the Millennium Development Goals Report for 2012, they have a higher prevalence (18%) than that of men (12%).
This figure increases if a woman is married or in a long-term relationship where her role is lowered in accordance with social norms which permit men to be in control of everything.
Source - Standard
