By Ronny Zikhali

Legendary reggae artiste, Bob Marley, in his stage performance at Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980 sang: ‘everyman has got a right to decide their own destiny..’ and this is what is happening now in the resort town of Binga, 300km from Bulawayo.
The town is a deep rural setting that is home to the BaTonga people, who are viewed as a minority tribe with no voice in decision making.
Trapped in the humid, semi arid valley of the Zambezi river, most of the BaTongas have not enjoyed freedom as much as their fellow countrymen in better developed areas.
Women and girls bear the burden of the ‘backwardness’ of this town.
It is only a pipe dream for the girl child to have rights to education and participation in community activities.
Most of the girls in the area are often victims of early marriage and teenage pregnences. They fall prey to a deep seated culture of polygamy and wife inheritance.
But now, the women of Binga have risen up to demand their rights as ordinary women and they have all the support they need.
Recently, a Tonga culture preservation Non-Governmental Organisation, Basilwizi Trust organized a schools’ cultural competition in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture.
The competition was meant to test school children in the district of their Tonga cultural aptitude and ran under the theme “Women are the shield of development”.
At the occasion, Chief Siachilaba of Binga urged the Tonga people to shun cultural practices that hinder girl child participation in mainstream society.
Chief Siachilaba said it was worrying that a majority of women and girls in Binga were denied the chance to advance their lives due to negative cultural practices which are still upheld by a number of households.
“The women and girls of Binga and in particular those along the Greater Zambezi Basin continue to remain the laughing stock of society because they have clung on to cultural practices that limit their chance of advancing in life.
“We can acknowledge that our forefathers upheld some aspects of the Tonga culture but we must not make those practices downgrade our women,” said Chief Siachilaba.
The Chief called on all Tonga men to appreciate and respect the girl child and desist from polygamy and wife inheritance.
“You do not have to marry more than one wife nowadays. If you are a man of honour you must respect your women and daughters and the community. The only valuable cultural lesson that we can give to our children is that of doing away with polygamy and wife inheritance as we want to see Binga children carry the fate of the Batonga Culture and show the world that we too can be responsible for our lives,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, the guest of honour, District Nursing Officer, Rona Gabbuza hailed Basilwizi and the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture for bringing the Binga community together to deliberate on the problems that face the girl child as it has remained taboo to talk about girl child emancipation.
“I would like to thank Basilwizi for their unwavering support in the process of Tonga culture.
“Now that there is more focus on the girl child, women must rise up and defend their worth, integrity and reclaim their pride as custodians of the Tonga culture,” said Mrs Gabbuza.
The Basilwizi Director, Mr Frank Mudimba said his organisation was on the verge of helping Tonga women document their experience so that the girls of school going age can learn to survive without succumbing to cultural practices.
“We are inviting women in Binga to the documentation of their day to day experience so that they can impart knowledge to young girls in this area. If the girl child gets knowledge from their mothers and grandmothers she can provide and make meaningful decisions that will have a bearing on the success of their community” said Mr Mudimba
He said the organisation’s involvement with the Schools Cultural Competition was driven by the fact that they want to create a shift in social attitude and belief that denigrate the girl child in Binga.
Binga District Education Officer, Ms Sihle Mabhena said the girl child in Binga must strive to participate in areas where women have been previously marginalised.
‘‘The struggle to educate the girl child must not end in schools but must continue at home where most of the girls are taught and exposed to negative cultural practices. It is upon the girl child to make sure that they participate in critical areas that are key to their advancement,”said Ms Mabhena
She added that educating girls on how to deal with negative cultural practices would stimulate growth and emancipate women from male submission.
The competition attracted schools drawn from 10 clusters in the Binga District.
Community and political leaders in the area commended school children for delivering positive speeches that addressed the problem faced by the girl child in marginalised communities.
The function was also graced by Binga Senator Herbert Sinampande who also commended the organisers for striving to put the Tonga people on the map.