Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) on Monday engaged Blantyre District Council’s Gender Technical Working Group (TWG) in order to equip members on how they could ably mitigate sex-based discrimination at work place and the community at large.
The engagement, according to MHRC Principal Gender and Human Rights Officer, Jamila Madukani was the commencement of the Iceland funded project called ‘Strengthening human rights-based intervention with a focus on sex-based discrimination in Malawi’.
She said district council officials are paramount in dealing with human rights issues like sexual harassment as they directly interact with people on the grassroots, hence orienting them first.
“The district council is a voice for so many areas such as the Social Welfare and Gender offices who work directly with the communities. Most people, both males and females do not know when their rights have been violated and that is why we want to equip them so that they can find legal redress when they have been sexually harassed,” Madukani explained.
Chief Planning Officer for the Council, Pearson Mphangwe has since commended MHRC for the orientation saying it has enlightened the TWG in several aspects ranging from the definitions of terminologies on what gender really entails.
“This will then help us to have a deep understanding on how to deal with sexual discrimination in all angles. As officers also, we have to be aware that it is not possible to violate others’ rights in the name of human rights.
“This training has helped us to identify even the other forms of discrimination that are not easily visible. Being equipped with such incites will foster a very good cordial working relationship amongst the officers in respective jurisdictions either in the workplace or any other circles,” he said.
