Africa-Press – Mozambique. At least 36% of Mozambican women are victims of partner violence throughout their lives and the campaign “Give Hope to 1001 Rositas” wants to combine religious beliefs with messages to curb the numbers.
The campaign comes as a tribute to activist Rosita Muchanga who died in February victim of violence perpetrated by her ex-husband.
The relationship had already ended, but the woman had no safe place to stay, which “made her vulnerable”, said the Interfaith Platform for Communication for Health (Pircom) in the note presenting the campaign.
The Provincial Court of Sofala, in central Mozambique, sentenced her ex- on Friday to 24 years in prison and a fine of 300,000 meticais (€4,000) for the victim’s family.
Rosita supported her community by creating groups of girls to train them about emancipation, HIV prevention and gender-based violence.
Recent data indicates that the lifetime prevalence of violence by an intimate partner in women aged 15-24 ranges from 36% to 47.8% in Mozambique, according to a study cited by Pircom, with psychological violence being the most reported.
“Give Hope to 1001 Rositas” wants to change the statistics preventing more women, girls and boys from suffering violence in the country, so it has been passing on billboards throughout Maputo messages of awareness and prevention, “associating them with sacred scriptures of the most practised religions in Mozambique”.
“On the billboards, there are images of religious leaders with messages about gender-based violence aligned with the sacred scriptures. They also run on television and community radio stations,” Pircom stressed.
The initiative aims to create “reflection and greater awareness” around partner violence, domestic violence against children, adolescents and youth and gender-based violence.
In addition to billboards, the messages are disseminated by community leaders through media outlets, digital platforms and social networks.
The campaign is promoted by Pircom, the Mozambican Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action and the association ComuSanas.
