HOFNA To Kick Out Violence Against The Girl Child With Arts

Bamenda, Cameroon—As part of an ongoing campaign dubbed “16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence,” local nongovernmental organization, Hope For the Needy Association (HOFNA) Cameroon will on Thursday December 10, 2015 screen a drama piece titled, “For Girls Abused.”

Students saying no to SRGBV at a sensitization campaign by HOHNA in B'da

The piece depicts mistreatment that young girls experience in schools and communities and which scuttles their education and the realization of their dreams. 

It draws attention to the hurdles Beri, a young girl from Nkambe, struggles to surmount in her quest for an education. She’s forced to marry her teacher, a man twice her age and already a husband to two wives.

Though Beri's mother feels her pain but can't help because of the abject poverty the family is wading in. The teacher assaults and sexually harasses the young lady serially, using her family’s poverty as leverage.

“We are already inviting different schools, teachers, parents, community members, traditional rulers, government representatives, representatives of the U.S Embassy and representatives of CSOs to the Congress Hall in Bamenda from 1pm to 3pm to do the first presentation of this drama during which we shall do talks of School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV), child early and forced marriages and other Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues that are affecting our girls and preventing their stay in Schools,” Christelle Bay, director of HOFNA said.

The event at the Bamenda Congress Hall, the rights activist said, will also serve as lieu for the official launch of HOFNA’s new project, “Creative Arts for Girls’ Empowerment.”

School Related Gender Based Violence is a major hindrance to achieving quality education for all and girls Empowerment in particular.  This is often in the form of threats of sexual, physical or psychological violence occurring in and around schools, perpetrated as a result of social norms and gender stereotypes, and enforced by unequal power dynamics.

SRGBV can have serious detrimental effects on children’s health and well-being and their ability to learn to their full potential. It negatively impacts school participation, learning levels and completion rates and raises barriers to gender equality in education and wider society.

By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Bamenda