Mkushi women advised to use Gender Ministry services

—Government has urged women of Mkushi district to maximise the use of services that are coordinated by the Ministry of Gender and Development.

Deputy Minister for Gender and Development, Josephine Limata, said this in Mkushi when she addressed women clubs at Mkushi Council Chamber this morning

Ms Limata stressed that there was need for women to appreciate that the PF government was focused on improving the welfare of the poor and vulnerable sectors of society such as women and children.

She said that in view of this, there was need for women to scale up in utilising the various forms of assistance that were being facilitated by the Gender and Development Ministry and its key partners.

The deputy minister said government acknowledged that women in the district faced challenges such as poverty and Gender Based Violence (GBV).

Ms Limata said poverty was amongst the root factors that rendered helplessness in situations of GBV, adding that her ministry had empowerment funding to help women with capital for income generation projects.

She bemoaned the poor response from Mkushi based women clubs in pursuing Women Empowerment Funds under Ministry of Gender, saying no women club in Mkushi had submitted applications for this funding.

Ms Limata tasked the women clubs to utilize her presence in the district to fill in the application forms for funding, saying she would take them back to the ministry herself.  

Commenting on the ministry’s activities for children, Ms Limata emphasised that the PF government had a zero tolerance for defilement and early marriages.

Ms Limata said here was need for women in Mkushi to play a leading role in efforts that aimed at curbing these social scourges, adding that there was need to ensure that cases of defilement and other sexual violence are reported to police.

She affirmed that the PF was committed towards protecting and upholding the rights of vulnerable people such as the girl child.

Ms Limata warned that her ministry would institute prompt action against parents who were found to be marrying off the girl child who is below 18 years old, saying that government’s objective was to enable girls to fulfil her education ambitions.