By PHELILE MWANDILA –

GENDER and Child Development Deputy Minister Obious Chisala has called on women to be agents of justice by reporting all gender-based violence (GBV) cases.
Mr Chisala said women must not sit by and watch, while girls are being defiled indiscriminately, as other women get battered by their spouses and killed.
“We cannot stand by as Christian women and watch, while our neighbour’s daughter is being defiled. We cannot afford to be silent when a woman next door is screaming for help, while she is battered, neither can we turn a blind eye when we know our friend was killed by her husband or boyfriend,” he said.
Mr Chisala was speaking when he was officially opening the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church Women’s Congress in Lusaka yesterday.
He urged women to be instruments for the transformation of the country into a better place to live in and be advocates for the oppressed in society.
He said Government cherished partnerships with churches and appealed to SDA women to partner with it in order to reach out to all deserving women so that the sufferings faced by the women folk could be
alleviated.
“The Government of Zambia cherishes partnerships with churches such as the Seventh-Day. In this way, we can truly be able to reach out to deserving women through the structures of the church,” he said.
Mr Chisala said the partnership could also ensure that efforts are not duplicated but evenly spread.
He said ministry of gender had an open door policy and which was why it was created in 2011 to ensure a place within the Government structure that could redress challenges confronted by women.
SDA women’ delegates Angelica Chibobola said the women in various communities were working with Government to leave a legacy for future generations in eradicating poverty, disease and other vices as the country celebrated its Golden Jubilee Independence Anniversary.
“We are grateful to know that the Ministry of Gender and Child Development has an open door to facilitate and redress the many challenges that confront women and we assure you that we shall knock on that door,” she said.