As we commemorate this year’s International Human Rights Day, we remain concerned about the increasing threats preventing women and girls from living a life in dignity, security and freedom from violence. Child marriages, trafficking in-persons for sex or slavery, mercy killings, Female Genital Mutilation, wife (and in some cases husband) beating, domestic violence, corporal punishments and many other forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) remain at disturbing levels in Uganda.
I hope we use this day to reflect on what we have done before and what more we can collectively do to increase access to assistance, protection and reparations to victims and survivors of GBV.
I hope that both state and non-state actors summon their collective power to take all measures necessary to prevent gender-based violence against women and children, including harmful practices. At the core of our interventions should be to eradicate household poverty and ignorance which factors occasionally drive GBV.
The way things stand, we the men, must rise to the occasion and help our women and girls in their inspiring journeys and provide them the necessary support to flourish. We are fathers, husbands and brothers, we can support our daughters, wives and sisters to unleash their potential so that they become productive members of society. We the men should be allies in this fight against GBV.
CRISPIN KAHERU: the writer is a commissioner of Uganda Human Rights Commission and rights activist.