By Emmanuel Moyo
Group Village Head Malema in the area of Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga District has appealed to parents in the District to ensure that all girls attend to education with an aim of ending gender based violence.
Malema made the remarks following commemoration of 16 days of gender activism in the district.
In an interview, he described education as a tool that can help girls know their rights and prevent GBV, hence the need for it.
“In my area, every parent that allows his/her child to stay away from school will be fined 2000 kwacha per day, what we want is to educate every girl child because educating a girl child is key in ending GBV and also key in the development of the country,” he said.
He has since asked parents to stop sending girls into early marriages with the aim of gaining money through payment of lobola.
On her part, Karonga Principle Gender Officer, Martha Kalumbi, said as the council, they are concerned with sexual violence of children and are promoting prevention by engaging communities.
“We are conducting sensitisation meetings and promoting prevention of GBV by engaging community members on issues to do with sexual violence of children, in these meetings we teach them that such violence must not be tolerated,” she said.
She has since urged all community members to report all cases of gender based violence so as to help young girls attain the required education.
