The International Women’s Day will be celebrated today and the Vanuatu Young People’s Project (VYPP) said it should be celebrated to remember the contribution of women in the Vanuatu society.
The Young People’s Project made this statement in response to a comment recently made in the media about youths and mother’s responsibility.
This statement on youths and mothers was reportedly made by NTM’s Inner Life Bishop, Tenene who alleged that “youth problems today are caused mainly by the mothers failing in their responsibilities as mothers”.
But the Young People’s Project said as youth advocacy organization, VYPP feels that this is a gross mis-statement, and an insult to the ni-Vanuatu mothers around the country.
“It is true that ni-Vanuatu youth face many challenges in today’s society.
“Some of these challenges include substance abuse (kava, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs), lack of education (both formal and otherwise), lack of good job opportunities, unwanted pregnancies, and the loss of their custom and culture.
“These are some of the larger issues that today’s youth are dealing with, but there are many more.
“To place the blame solely on mothers not only incorrectly ‘spoils’ ni-Vanuatu mammas but also does the youth in question a disservice as it does nothing to help the issue at hand.
“How about, instead, correctly identifying some of the underlying problems that contribute to the issues facing youth so that we are better able to fix them?
“While we are not in any way diminishing the importance of parental control or influence in the lives of youth, the key word is “parent”, as in both mother and father.
“Each have a crucial part to play in the emotional, physical and psychological development of their children, and in bringing a child into the world they have both undertaken one of the biggest responsibilities imaginable.
“Extended family also has an important role in the lives of youth with aunts, uncles and grandparents being in positions of influence in the lives of youth.
“It’s also fair to add that, in the absence of any direct reference to the upbringing of Jesus in his teenage years in the bible, the Bishop can only suggest that “Mary …thoroughly taught Jesus throughout His childhood days and nurtured Him [and that] it wasn’t Joseph who did that part of the teaching”.
“With International Women’s Day to be celebrated on Monday, 8 March, we would urge everybody to think about the huge positive contribution that women play in Vanuatu society – in the workplace, in the community, in the home, and yes, in the lives of their children – instead of unfairly blaming them for all of the problems that today’s ni-Vanuatu youth are currently facing,” the office of the Young People’s Project stated.