All roads to Chidobe for GBV fight.

More than 2 000 participants are expected to attend the district launch of the 16 days Activism
against Gender Based Violence in Chidobe Ward 12 under the Hwange Rural District Council.
Civil Societies Organisation and gender activists are expected to grace the event in the rural
community.

The Hwange District Development Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and
Medium Enterprises Development, Innocent Ncube, said all is set for this years launch and
commemorations are meant to empower and invest in women.
The international theme for the 2023 campaign is UNiTE! Invest to Prevent Violence against Women
Girls.

“The theme calls upon all Governments, civil society and women’s rights organisations,
organisations working with men and boys, the UN system, the Generation Equality Action Coalitions,
human rights defenders, schools, Universities, private sector, sports clubs and associations and
individuals to step up and support different prevention strategies to stop violence from occurring in
the first place,” said Ncube.

He said there was a need to mobilise all member states to allocate a national budget to prevent
violence against women and girls, including through their own national action plans and prevention
across education, health, and social protection sectors by incorporating Violence Against Women
and Girls (VAWG) prevention.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence is an annual International Campaign that
kicks off every year on the November 25 and runs until December 10. November 25 marks the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women while December 10 is the Human
Rights Day. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence therefore symbolically links
Violence against Women to Human Rights.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence was started by activists at the inaugural
Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the
Centre for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and
organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women
and girls.

Zimbabwe as a member of the United Nations implements this campaign and each year
Commemorations are planned and led by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small
Enterprises Development in collaboration with stakeholders that include line Ministries, UN
Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, Media, Private Sector Organisations and Faith Based
Organisations.