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BURUNDI: Odette Nzokirantevye, "Now I don't wait for my husband to give me money for soap"
13 Nov 2009 12:42:00 GMT
 Source: IRIN

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BUGARAMA, 13 November 2009 (IRIN) - A CARE empowerment project in Burundi is training women in dispute resolution, savings and credit schemes, and putting a stop to sexual violence.

Odette Nzokirantevye, 37, a mother of six from Bugarama Commune in Bujumbura Rural Province, told IRIN on 6 November that joining the project had changed her life:

"I joined Gezaho! [The name of the CARE project, meaning "Stop!" in Kirundi - i.e. "stop violence against women"] in 2007 when I realized that women were not being treated as human beings when it came to gender-based violence. I had my own knowledge on many matters affecting us here at the village, but it was not enough; Gezaho! has given me power and knowledge.

"Before the programme, women who were victims of violence had nowhere to go for help and no one to help them. Since the project started in our village, whenever a woman is abused, she now knows what to do and where to go to seek assistance.

"My husband used to beat me and he would say that there is no way a woman can stand up and say anything in a meeting; when you stood up, you were given names. They would say 'that woman is above her husband'; some even told my husband to get another woman 'because one who can stand up and speak out in meetings is not a woman to keep as a wife'.

"I had children and I didn't have anywhere to go should he throw me out. Initially, my husband did not want me to join Gezaho! thinking it would provide an opportunity for me to look for other men; he changed when he saw the benefits of the programme. Now he says it is alright for me to be a member. Men are also invited to Gezaho! and they do training, and because many of them have benefited, they are happy to be members. Of course, there are those who have not changed and continue to engage in violence against women but these are few.

"Since joining Gezaho! I now know my rights better and I have other members acting as my support group. Previously, I didn't have an opportunity to make any money of my own; now I don't wait for my husband to give me money for soap or lotion; I know how to conduct business; I can count money and I am now able to save. When there is a new type of 'kitenge' [cloth wrap] in the market, I can buy it for myself from the proceeds I make from selling charcoal, cassava flour and cooking oil.

"Gezaho! has sensitized us to fight for our rights; it has opened our minds and given us knowledge to know what we are entitled to as women. However, the project should give more support to women, especially those in the hills [in Bujumbura Rural] who are still lagging behind as most of them do not know their rights."

js/cb

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