• Control over sexuality — e.g. ‘Men can have multiple sexual relationships by nature, women are not as sexually active as men’; and • Food taboos — e.g. ‘Pregnant women should not eat eggs, men should eat the drumsticks of a chicken’. What is culture? All modes of thought, behaviour and production are handed down from one generation to the next by means of socialisation (communicative interaction) through speech, gestures, writing, and all other forms of communication among humans rather than by genetic transmission or heredity. As a way of life, culture has such dimensions as ideas (ways of thinking), norms (accepted ways of implementing ideas) and material culture (patterns of possessing or using the products of culture, e.g. tools, medicines, etc.). Culture is not homogenous. Culture is naturally dynamic – it changes and moves with the needs of the community or society (see Modules 1 & 2). WOMEN EMPOWERMENT (Mini lecture and discussion) Empowerment, generally, is a process by means of which individuals, groups and communities organise themselves so as to influence change on the basis of their access to knowledge, political processes, and financial, social and natural resources. Women’s empowerment, on the other hand, is a process by means of which unequal power relations are transformed and women achieve greater equality in relation to men. This process of women empowerment includes: • At a policy level, the extension of all fundamental social, economic and political rights to women; and • At an individual level, the processes by way of which women gain inner power to express and defend their rights and gain self-esteem and control over their own lives as well as personal and social relationships. The first step in empowering women is to create spaces where they can talk and where they can share their experiences with others. Often, women are isolated and are ashamed to share what is going on at home and in their lives. Stories can be shared during stress and trauma workshops, which gives them an opportunity to work through very painful experiences. In addition, information about human rights, support and the legal options that are available help women to make informed decisions about ways to deal with matters such as abuse. Safe spaces Safe spaces for women can be created through the formation of support groups. Objectives of support groups • To capacitate women survivors with assertiveness, decision-making skills, self-esteem and self-confidence, and link them with clubs; • To create a women-only space in order to promote peer-to-peer support; and • To prepare women so that they can prevent/deal with violence. In forming support groups, the facilitator should define what a support group is. Essentially, a support group is made up of people with common interests who are going through, or 72 Community Healing: A training manual for Zimbabwe