Chikwawa-based organisation, Community Focus (COFO) has launched a women’s football initiative in a quest to minimise the threat of Gender-based violence believed to be on the rise in the district.
Through the initiative, COFO says it wants to empower women and girls, foster a safe space for dialogue, education and community building.
The organisation’s Executive Director Joshua Malunga has told ProjectM that the organisation also hopes to leverage the power of sports to drive positive change and improve lives of women and girls in Chikwawa District.
“A lot of gender-based cases go unreported due to among others, lack of confidence in victims and we want to change that,” he said.
Malunga further indicated that using the initiative, mental health issues will be minimized among participants.
“Women in the district and Malawi as a whole are at a risk of suffering from mental health issues and the provision of a platform where they can relax would greatly help,” said Malunga.
Dozens of women’s teams from the district are expected to benefit from the initiative which has already received a nod from the world’s football government body, Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).
“The initiative has already received an overwhelming support from FIFA, which has already given us a green light to proceed and of course the GIZ,” Malunga added.
Meanwhile, competitions and communications director at the Football Association of Malawi Gomezgani Zakazaka has pledged full support, saying the country’s football governing body is ready to support the initiative.
“Apart from ending gender based violence, we also believe the initiative will help to revamp women’s football in Chikwawa,” he said.
Renowned sports analyst and reporter working for Transworld Radio in Lilongwe, Anthony Manda has since commended COFO for introducing what he has described as a creative way of fighting gender based violence.
Manda has called on stakeholders to support the initiative.
