Inclusive sports can help reduce GBV against people with disabilities
Inclusive sports can play a vital role in ending Gender Based Violence against people with various forms of disabilities in society, according to the Malawi Council for Disability Affairs (MACODA).
George Chiusiwa, the MACODA executive director, made the sentiments at the Kamuzu Vocational Rehabilitation and Training Centre (KVRTC) located at Magomero in Chiradzulu district on Thursday after a special day of inclusive sports activities.
According to Chiusiwa Persons with disabilities, be they physical or mental, need to be incorporated in various sporting activities and events that affect public life as they contribute to development of the human rights.
He said: “The right to participate in sporting activities is quite fundamental, an entitlement under the Persons with Disabilities Act 2024.”
Malawi approved the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which promotes participation in sporting activities and recreation services where they can also be employed.
“The message is sending out there to the rest of the society is that let us include persons with disabilities in sporting activities because a sport is an industry we talk about people ending a living from sports” Chiusiwa explained
MACODA partnered with Loughborough University which specializes in sports education intending to boost and advocate for inclusive sports in Malawi.
Jessica Noske-Turner, a senior lecturer at the University, emphasized the importance of starting the inclusive sports project from the community level which can slowly grow to the national level.
Noske-Turner said: “We were very interested to partner on this project to see how we can use the power of sport and Paralympic sport and para-sport at a community level to change the narrative around disability.
This is something that needs to change all around the world and para-sport has been at very early stages in Malawi but over the past four years has really shot ahead.”
The senior lecturer also expressed a desire to see more athletes competing in international competitions including Paralympics.
On Thursday, MACODA held an event at Magomero in Chiradzulu where inclusive sports activities were contested by children with disabilities and the abled competed in football, netball, and sack races
Impressed by the performances on the day, Noske-Turner said: “So from having just a few athletes to having two athletes recently compete at Paris, such events show how we can rearrange and rethink sport perhaps to make sure that it’s inclusive and that we’re fostering the skills and opportunities of everyone.”
The event brought together employees from MACODA Head Office, Bangwe Factory, Kamuzu Vocational and Rehabilitation Training Centre, as well as students from Malimba Secondary and Primary Schools, along with community members from the Magomero area in Chiradzulu
About The Author
