A global movement advocating for young girls and adolescent girls decision making power over their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights was launched in Harare on Friday night.
By Kudakwashe Pembere
She Decides Zimbabwe Coordinator and movement builder Mr Onward Chironda said donor agencies, civil society organisations, diplomatic corps, faith based organisation and parliamentarians pledged to support their cause.
The movement is about creating a community or world safe for adolescent girls, safer for them decide on issues of teenage pregnancy, gender based violence, child marriages and other many harmful cultural practices in our communities.
“She decides is a movement that believes in broadly autonomy, the health and rights and freedoms of adolescent girls and young women and communities where they can decide about their bodies, their future, their health and their wellbeing,” he said.
He also said commitments for technical and financial resources were made by donors.
“We had donors making commitments to increase financial or technical resources to make sure that communities are sustainable in terms of programs to do with young girls and young women. CSOs were here present talking about best practices of the work they have done in the communities and what can be replicated or done better and challenges they have,” Mr Chironda said. “. Government has to do more in increasing resource allocation for Health and rights issues for adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s launch coincided with other countries also part of the global movement. “The launch in Zimbabwe is not the only that happened. We have launched in Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda,” he said.
He said the launch will be replicated across the country leaving no one behind.
“It’s a global and grassroots movement because right now from today next week we are going to be in Bulawayo, Gweru, the other week we will be in Victoria Falls, Beitbridge, Mutare and other rural districts launching this movement,” Mr Chironda said.
The event was graced by Canada’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Rene Cremonese, Hivos Southern Afica Director, a Member Of Parliament Joana Mamombe, alongside implementers of sexual reproductive health rights programs such as Safaids, Right Here Right Now Zimbabwe.
