In Congo, one in three women experiences sexual violence. With its “gender villages” project, our partner Etoile du Sud (EDS) is creating a safe space where women and men can experience greater equality between men and women through concrete initiatives.
A “gender village” is not a physical village but an association of people who want to defend women's rights. Kinshasa already has more than 80 gender villages. In Lubumbashi, too, the first steps have been taken.
In Bibwa, a working-class neighbourhood in Kinshasa, we can gauge the significance of the impact of such an initiative. Papa Tshishimbi (in the first photo) gave a training course on empowerment, after which the participants conducted surveys in the neighbourhood on the problems faced by young girls and women. The women were encouraged in various ways to speak out. The result is a list of concrete proposals that will be submitted to local politicians.
At school, too, girls participated in the debate on an equal footing with boys. The young people suggested changing their hobbies for once. The result? Now it is the girls who play football and the boys who are supporters.
