On the 25th November, the girls studying in Quelimane attended the Round Table discussion marking the opening of the 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls.

The 16 Days of Activism is an international campaign starting on the 25th November, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on the 10th December, Human Rights Day.

The event, which was sponsored by Oxfam was organised by the Association of Girls of Zambezia (ARZ) in partnership with university faculties and other leading women’s organisations in Quelimane.

The themes focussed on the situation in Zambezia and a review of the current national legislation aimed at tackling gender violence with a particular focus on domestic violence.

At the event, the girls were interviewed about the causes and consequences of violence and stressed the importance of denouncing perpetrators as can be seen in this video.

Two days later, some of the girls also attended a talk on the topic of domestic violence, which took place in Inhamgome, 10km outside Quelimane  town. In this way, the girls had the opportunity to listen first hand to the lived experiences of women and to participate in discussions on the subject of violence drawing on their personal experiences and understanding of the topic acquired in the discussions of the Girls Clubs supported by the Zalala Foundation in Idugo and Supinho over several years.