Gender ministry targets music to curb GBV

• By Rosalia David

THE Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has collaborated with veteran producer Arrafath Muhure on a campaign to curb gender based violence (GBV) through music.

In an interview with Confidente, gender ministry chief public relations officer Lukas Haufiku expressed gratitude towards the support the song ‘Be the Change’ has received saying that so far, it has managed to touch souls and change lives.

“I would say, so far so good.

We have received positive feedback already and we are hoping that the messages reach more people,” he said.

According to Haufiku, the idea of the song came about after observing the high number of GBV cases in the country especially amongst teenagers.

He said, it is time the community raises their voices against gender based violence.

“There are so many cases of women that have lost their lives at the hands of their partners.

There was also an increase in cases involving minors, while the publications have reported that there is a high number of violence during the time of Covid-19 lockdown. So, we decided to be the change,” he explained.

Haufiku said over the year’s males have also been subjected to GBV however the statistics are much higher in females.

“We are not saying that men are not suffering but the statistics do tell us that predominantly it occurs amongst women and that is exactly how the song was birthed to say that enough is enough and let us rise up and protect our women and men.”

On most occasions, Haufiku said the community is reluctant to report cases of GBV happening in their surroundings.

“We all need to play our part in curbing GBV. We need to forget about the idea of minding our business when it comes to violence. If there is a neighbour being abused, report it before the person dies.

You be the change and play your part.

“We decided to use music as another way of condemning this act and knowing that music can reach the masses as our targeted audience is the youth,” he concluded.

Collaborating on Haufiku’s sentiment, Muhure also expressed concern on the high number of violence cases against women saying that men should learn the trick of walking away.

The song features several artists, the likes of Tequila, Chikune, Dice, KP Illest, Chikune, D-Naff and many others.