"Have Pity and Compassion", a Global Grassroots sponsored project, will use theater, film and debate to address family violence stemming from women's inability to protect their property rights.
This project team, comprised of 15 local women, calls attention to the fact that even though national laws give women the right to own and manage property, women in the Mutara district often find themselves in conflict with their families and without a voice or power to protect their property rights to land, their homes, animals and household expenditures. About 550 Mutara community members will benefit from this theater-based educational project in its first year.
This locally-initiated project will train counselors to mediate issues of domestic violence and women's land rights. They will use theater, debate and films to inspire widows and youth to fight norms that accept gender violence and discrimination.
In one year, the project will train 200 counselors to mediate property conflicts, and educate 100 widows and 100 youth. The number of women whose rights are violated is estimated to fall from 70% of property holders to 30% over the first year.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
