The men and boys’ community action groups were established with technical support from the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs (MOCTA). Through these Community Action Groups (CAGs), insakas and mentorship sessions are held for men and boys in the community to help raise awareness on SRHR while other club members are trained as change agents to help fight the injustices which prohibit adolescent girls and young women from enjoying their SRHR.
Mr Mwiinga from MOCTA highlighted how before the establishment of the men and boys club, in the area, there was a lack of information on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights among men and boys. Additionally, child marriages and cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were very high and a lot of men and boys could not respect the rights of women and girls.
Mr Mwiinga shared that the clubs have helped men and boys respect the rights of women by acknowledging their privilege as men and boys and that the fight against inequality and GBV needed their commitment and contribution. Additionally, he said that the men’s and boys’ clubs have pushed for the implementation of bylaws in their communities that punish any parent who withdrew their child (ren) from school and married them off at an early age. The by-laws developed and implemented by the chiefs and headmen allow them to take parents that withdraw children from schools for marriage to the courts of law and these parents are charged a sum of K10, 000 or made to do community work for six (6) months.
Further, Mr Mwiinga shared that the members of the men and boys’ clubs were now providing counselling services to GBV victims and survivors at the Chisamba GBV one-stop centre in collaboration with the trained health care providers in the district. Additionally, because of the clubs established, Mr Mwiinga shared that the clubs are being invited by headmen to provide Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights awareness-raising sessions/insakas to other men and boys in different villages across the two districts of Chisamba and Chibombo.