Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Forum of Women’s Organizations of Niassa (FOFeN ), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO), has proposed to the provincial government a “series of new practices” in initiation rites, in a bid to reduce premature unions and early pregnancy in the province.
The “Script Guiding Rites of Initiation” proposes a series of rules and conditions to be observed before, during and after the rituals, providing for “sanctions for those who do not obey”, indicates a document from the institution examined by Lusa.
The proposal was sent for approval to the government of Niassa, a province where, the NGO claims, “women face multidimensional social exclusion influenced by cultural factors, with a focus on initiation rites”.
FOFeN suggests establishing an initiation window, including an age limit for entering the process, which starts at 10 years old for boys and 15 years old for girls.
“The period for establishing the practice should comply with the calendar of the national education system, with greater emphasis on the long holidays in December, to avoid clashes with the school year,” the document reads.
The NGO wants children and minors to opt for school rather than marriage, and suggests that songs sung during the initiation ceremonies be “more didactic”, including content about “the rights of the child and the consequences of early pregnancy and premature marriage”.
“[Children] should take school material and storybooks with them to continue the teaching and learning process for individual and group studies in the camps,” the FOFeN guide urges.
Under the new guidelines suggested by the NGO, any promoter of rites who fails to obey the rules would pay a fine of 200 meticais (three Euros) per child and, in case of repeat offences, be barred from practising the rites for two years.
“Fofen’s expectation is that, if approved, the ‘Script’ will be an efficient instrument to leverage the most disadvantaged social segments,” the document concludes.
Latest official figures indicate that 48% of Mozambican girls are married before the age of 18, a situation that non-governmental organisations say is aggravated by the inefficient implementation of legislation, in addition to poverty and custom.
FOFeN is part of a consortium of nearly ten Mozambican organisations which promote gender equality and empower women and girls.
Initiation rituals, more adhered-to in northern parts of Mozambique, separate teenagers by gender and have them fulfil various set of tasks and traditions over a period lasting between two day and a month.
Initiation can involve physical marking and the imposition of limitations on individual freedoms, while others simply involve the transmission of oral knowledge and traditional practices within a community.
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