Author: stephanielinusdaily

As a celebrity ambassador for NDI’s Stop VAWIE campaign in Nigeria, I was a special guest at the ‘#NotTheCost: Stopping Violence Against Women In Politics’ Conference which took place in New York, U.S.A recently.

The Global Call to Action to Stop Violence Against Women in Politics was organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

The event was attended by the U.S. Secretary of State and NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright as well as Madame Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, women’s rights activist and wife of the Prime Minister of Canada. Other special guests were Dr. Juli Minoves Triquell, president of Liberal International; Alejandra Mora Mora, minister for the Status of Women in Costa Rica; Khadija El Morabit, vice president of the International Network of Liberal Women; Irena Hadziabdic, IFES Board Director and Purna Sen, director of the Policy Division at UN Women.

The conference was the starting point for a global movement where women from across the world spoke about the violence they faced while exercising their democratic rights and voiced their resolve to put an end to it.

During the conference, I played a key role where I introduced the Global Call To Action, and encouraged everyone to work towards making a difference. Here is an excerpt from my presentation: “We can stand here in New York and talk, or we can go out into the world and make a difference to the lives of women who want to be voices in their nation”.

I strongly believe that all violence against women is wrong and must be stopped, and would continue to lend my voice to causes that speak against the exclusion and under representation of women.

Here are some photos:

This story just made my day!

I admire and respect people across the world who are championing the cause for compulsory education for the girl-child and an end to child marriages. Since I joined this movement years ago, I have drawn inspiration from women who have done so much in this regard and I was so glad when I recently read about yet another champion.

Theresa Kachindamoto is a senior chief in the Dedza District of Central Malawi who uses her authority to help the women and girls in her district. In the past three years, she has annulled more than 850 child marriages, sent hundreds of young women back to school to continue their education, and made strides to abolish cleansing rituals that require girls as young as seven to go to sexual initiation camps.

According to a report on her inspiring story which I read HERE, she began her advocacy work when she was called to serve as a chief in her district. Here is an excerpt:

Kachindamoto, who was born in Dedza District, had been working as a secretary for twenty-seven years in another district when she was called to come home and serve as a chief. Upon her return, she was dismayed at the sight of 12 year-old girls with babies and young husbands and quickly began to take action. Last year, Malawi raised the legal age to marry to 18, yet parental consent continues to serve as a loophole to allow younger girls to marry. Kachindamoto ordered 50 of her sub-chiefs to sign an agreement ending child marriage in Dedza District. When a few male chiefs continued to approve the marriages, Kachindamoto suspended them until they annulled the unions. In addition to annulling the marriages (330 in June of 2015 alone!), this fierce chief sent the children back to school, often paying their school fees with her own money. She has also asked parliament to raise the minimum age of marriage again to 21.

In an area where girls are often married early to ease a family’s financial burden and where one in five girls in Malawi are victims of sexual abuse, Kachindamoto is also taking a stand against the cleansing camps where girls are routinely sent before marriage. The sexual initiation rites that take place there are extremely disturbing, particularly in a country where one in ten people has HIV. Kachindamoto is threatening to dismiss any chiefs that continue to allow these controversial practices. Kachindamoto has faced plenty of opposition to her efforts from parents and community members, even receiving death threats, yet she remains determined to continue changing minds and laws for the benefits of Malawi’s females and their futures. In Kachindamoto’s own words, “If they are educated, they can be and have anything they want.”

She couldn’t be more right. The deprivation of education makes the girl child vulnerable. An education exposes her to more opportunities and makes her more aware of her rights.

I celebrate this brave woman and urge us all to do more to protect vulnerable children in our society.

SL