"I am strong," the girls chanted, their voices filling a classroom in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital. "I can use my voice. I can use my body!"
The group of about 50 schoolgirls, dressed in indigo uniforms, were being taught to fight off sexual assault. In front of them, Simang'aliso Domoya paced up and down, calling on the pupils to repeat her mantra: "I am beautiful, but I am dangerous!"
The girls, ages 11 to 16, looked at the instructor wide-eyed. Outside the classroom, other students gathered to peer through the windows.
Domoya is a coordinator for the Malawian non-governmental organization Ujamaa-Pamodzi, which teaches self-empowerment and self-defense in classrooms across the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment