BY EPN REPORTER
MBABANE – The scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is being seriously addressed by the country’s legislators. Today, Senators met with their counterparts from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the European Union (EU) to discuss interventions to GBV. This comes after the Kingdom of Eswatini also ratified the SADC Protocol on Gender and Women Development.
Speaking during the meeting, Ndumiso Mdluli, Acting President of the senate, said “The speech from the throne endorses that government will continue to invest timely and appropriately in the welfare of children, because they are key to the future of this country and the attainment of the continental vision 2063.”
This sentiment was echoed by SADC representative Kealeboga Murut, who said that the goal of this meeting was “To assist and reinforce national efforts on the fight against Gender-Based Violence”.
“Our responsibility as a secretariat is to develop normative frameworks for addressing emergent security challenges as they present themselves. I wish to bring to the attention of this house today, the regional overarching tools that guide the gender based violence agenda. We’ve got the SADC vision 2050, and the regional indicative strategic development plan. These recognize the prevention and reduction of GBV as a catalyst for attaining peace and security”, said Morut.
Ambassador to the European Union Choumelova Dessislava, also emphasised the importance of gender equality in the pursuit of progress and development. “Sustainable Development and progress cannot be achieved without gender equality. And without meaningful enhancement of women’s economic and political participation. Gender equality will therefore continue to be mainstream across European Union funded programmes and projects,” said Dessislava.
