News / National
Chinotimba says both men and women are abusers
10 Mar 2016 at 05:31hrs | Views
Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba has claimed that both men and women were abusers of each other contrary to the obvious claims that men were the major abusers of women.
"Iif we look at each other here, it is not everyone who is clean. I cannot point out names. It is not only the abuse of women that is happening but there are women who are also abusing boys. We have a story that happened in Chitungwiza whereby a 65 year old woman took a young man aged 20," he said. "Again, we have a child who was 17 years and was herding cattle. He was taken by a woman aged 55. That issue went before the courts. I think as women debate this issue, as what was said by the Hon. Member that gender is not all about women but about men and women. Men are being violated; some of the women are the ones who spoil these children."
He said the mother brings home a boyfriend and a child witnesses this and when this child behaves in the same manner – that is why he said that if a child acts likewise, it is because they would have seen the mother doing it.
"When that child leaves home going out in the evening, where do the parents think the child is going? Mothers should be clever and protect their children. You might not agree to this but this is what is happening. The women go to the beer halls, they come back with a boyfriend and the children are there and they see this happening. They send their children to go and ask for sugar or bread from a man who is living alone and the wife will be in the rural areas," Chinotimba said.
"Some of us have rural constituencies so, when we come here we leave our wives behind and you see that mothers send their daughters to borrow sugar from such a man. Imaging borrowing salt from a man leaving alone. I did not say salt I said sauti, the term in Shona differs according to dialect. That is not what is expected from a good mother to send a child to go and borrow salt from someone's husband instead of her going by herself. Instead they send their daughters to go and borrow salt from Chinotimba. What do they want Chinotimba to do when they send their daughters, knowing well that the wife is in the rural areas?"
Chinotimba said he was talking about customs and traditions here.
"I agree with the motion that it is not right. I am not in disagreement with the motion but I am talking about our cultural practices. We are saying that women need to look after their children. We have a problem in Midlands University, the parents send children to university without money and food. There was a video that circulated of how children live. What do they expect their child to do when they send them to school without enough resources? There was an issue on human trafficking which was on the radio and it was also in Kwayedza," he said. "If you look at those issues, those are caused by poverty; our nation as it is, in the past, when a child went to university, the university would give grants and loans that would be paid back when a child starts working. Now the Government is having financial challenges and they cannot assist. There are also no jobs where the children can go and work and pay back that money."
He said if one travel in the Avenues area around 5p.m will be deeply saddened because the children who are there are very young 15 – 17 years; those are from the universities.
"What I am saying is that it is not only the men who should be arrested but those women who send children to school without enough resources must be arrested as well as the men who send children to universities without money - they should be arrested as well. The family is provided for by the mother and father so, it is their duty to look after the family. The mother and father who would have failed to provide for the children should be arrested because they are the ones who would have caused the immoral decadence," he said.
"Hon. Oliver Mandipaka talked about the apostolic sector where girls were encouraged to go for virginity testing; now it is termed child abuse. Why is it child abuse if the parents are protecting their child? They will fear that if it is known that they are no longer virgins, the children will not get married. These are the children who get married because if they confess that they were raped, they will be forgiven. We talked about this issue here in Parliament and I said let the church take root but the Members of Parliament refused and today children are engaging in immoral behaviour; if they are deflowered, the parents will know. If the parents say let us go to church and be examined, the child will say the parents are abusing me and they will go and report to the police. We need to consider what we can term child abuse."
Chinotimba said what he says is that those people who interrogate the law should interrogate it seriously and where the child abuse is coming from.
"If we continue to say it is the men always, it is because Adam sinned and now the blame is put on everyone. The women have their issues that they do not want to bring out in the open because they do not want them to be known," he said.
"The cause of child marriages is on the women and I swear by my Bible that I am holding in my hand today, they push their children into early marriages. The only time when men where blamed in the Bible is when a King fell sick and they sourced for a solution they said that a child should be brought in and when the king moves it will show that he is still alive."
"So, I am saying that it is these women who actually cause child marriages. I support the movers of the motion. I was saddened on Saturday, I was at a meeting whereby I was preaching and I was preaching to the nation, I saw women without any respect who were breast feeding their children without covering their breasts. A decent woman should use a towel to cover her breast while breastfeeding or go away from the people but I did not see that happening. Now, if children see this they will adopt what they see their mothers doing," he added.
"Most people in this august House are widows and widowers but my Bible says that if you are a widow around 60, you are young and may give us challenges because you want to get married to children who are 18 years old. So, there is child abuse and we have child abusers in this august House," he said.
"Iif we look at each other here, it is not everyone who is clean. I cannot point out names. It is not only the abuse of women that is happening but there are women who are also abusing boys. We have a story that happened in Chitungwiza whereby a 65 year old woman took a young man aged 20," he said. "Again, we have a child who was 17 years and was herding cattle. He was taken by a woman aged 55. That issue went before the courts. I think as women debate this issue, as what was said by the Hon. Member that gender is not all about women but about men and women. Men are being violated; some of the women are the ones who spoil these children."
He said the mother brings home a boyfriend and a child witnesses this and when this child behaves in the same manner – that is why he said that if a child acts likewise, it is because they would have seen the mother doing it.
"When that child leaves home going out in the evening, where do the parents think the child is going? Mothers should be clever and protect their children. You might not agree to this but this is what is happening. The women go to the beer halls, they come back with a boyfriend and the children are there and they see this happening. They send their children to go and ask for sugar or bread from a man who is living alone and the wife will be in the rural areas," Chinotimba said.
"Some of us have rural constituencies so, when we come here we leave our wives behind and you see that mothers send their daughters to borrow sugar from such a man. Imaging borrowing salt from a man leaving alone. I did not say salt I said sauti, the term in Shona differs according to dialect. That is not what is expected from a good mother to send a child to go and borrow salt from someone's husband instead of her going by herself. Instead they send their daughters to go and borrow salt from Chinotimba. What do they want Chinotimba to do when they send their daughters, knowing well that the wife is in the rural areas?"
Chinotimba said he was talking about customs and traditions here.
"I agree with the motion that it is not right. I am not in disagreement with the motion but I am talking about our cultural practices. We are saying that women need to look after their children. We have a problem in Midlands University, the parents send children to university without money and food. There was a video that circulated of how children live. What do they expect their child to do when they send them to school without enough resources? There was an issue on human trafficking which was on the radio and it was also in Kwayedza," he said. "If you look at those issues, those are caused by poverty; our nation as it is, in the past, when a child went to university, the university would give grants and loans that would be paid back when a child starts working. Now the Government is having financial challenges and they cannot assist. There are also no jobs where the children can go and work and pay back that money."
He said if one travel in the Avenues area around 5p.m will be deeply saddened because the children who are there are very young 15 – 17 years; those are from the universities.
"Hon. Oliver Mandipaka talked about the apostolic sector where girls were encouraged to go for virginity testing; now it is termed child abuse. Why is it child abuse if the parents are protecting their child? They will fear that if it is known that they are no longer virgins, the children will not get married. These are the children who get married because if they confess that they were raped, they will be forgiven. We talked about this issue here in Parliament and I said let the church take root but the Members of Parliament refused and today children are engaging in immoral behaviour; if they are deflowered, the parents will know. If the parents say let us go to church and be examined, the child will say the parents are abusing me and they will go and report to the police. We need to consider what we can term child abuse."
Chinotimba said what he says is that those people who interrogate the law should interrogate it seriously and where the child abuse is coming from.
"If we continue to say it is the men always, it is because Adam sinned and now the blame is put on everyone. The women have their issues that they do not want to bring out in the open because they do not want them to be known," he said.
"The cause of child marriages is on the women and I swear by my Bible that I am holding in my hand today, they push their children into early marriages. The only time when men where blamed in the Bible is when a King fell sick and they sourced for a solution they said that a child should be brought in and when the king moves it will show that he is still alive."
"So, I am saying that it is these women who actually cause child marriages. I support the movers of the motion. I was saddened on Saturday, I was at a meeting whereby I was preaching and I was preaching to the nation, I saw women without any respect who were breast feeding their children without covering their breasts. A decent woman should use a towel to cover her breast while breastfeeding or go away from the people but I did not see that happening. Now, if children see this they will adopt what they see their mothers doing," he added.
"Most people in this august House are widows and widowers but my Bible says that if you are a widow around 60, you are young and may give us challenges because you want to get married to children who are 18 years old. So, there is child abuse and we have child abusers in this august House," he said.
Source - Byo24News
