Ngamanya Nkunika
Creating safe spaces for young people to be themselves
Ngamanya Nkunika
Ngamanya Nkunika is leading the way fighting for access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Zambia. She navigates a conservative environment that frowns upon seeking SRHR when, for example, you are queer or unwed. Ngamanya tackles these challenges through her key roles as a Community Outreach and Mobilisation Officer at the Women’s Alliance for Equality (WAFE) and as a youth panel member of the Make Way programme in Zambia. In both roles, she applies an intersectional approach to ensure that everyone can access the SRHR that they need. We sat down with Ngamanya to learn more about her work, her approach to SRHR using intersectionality and how everyone can realise their SRHR. Read more →
The Women’s Alliance for Equality (WAFE) is an LBTQ led organisation that promotes the empowerment of women in Zambia. One of their key focus areas is SRHR, where they provide reproductive health services such as HIV testing, cervical cancer screening and mental health therapy for female sex workers, trans women, trans men and men who have sex with men.
Safe spaces for young people
As with many places around the world, SRHR in Zambia is volatile. The Zambian government has committed to ensuring the SRHR of all people are achieved. Ngamanya, explains that, although information about SRHR may be available, she doesn’t see that it is accessible for many young people. Conservative social norms still prevent access to SRHR information and services. Ngamanya explains that “as a young person, if you go to seek SRHR information at the [health] clinic and you are not married, you’re going to be frowned upon.” To tackle these issues, at WAFE, Ngamanya has been instrumental in setting up ‘safe spaces’ for youth.
In safe spaces, youth and other people can come to speak up about their issues or anything else on their minds. Ngamanya tells us that the key element in safe spaces is that they are built upon an intersectional approach. “They should be diverse and accommodating everyone, so no one feels left out.” Safe spaces offer a place for everyone to access information and services – where no one is discriminated against because of their sexuality, gender, marriage status or other. Ngamanya shares that “in certain communities where they have health clinics and a safe space, things go well.” In her experience, everyone can then receive the healthcare that they need.
Embracing the whole
For many people, intersectionality can be a new and ambiguous term. Ngamanya clearly explains: “Intersectionality is looking at a human being, the whole. Rather than boxing them into a certain classification. Intersectionality is really looking at all the challenges and privileges that we have and also recognising that sometimes we’re not even aware of these challenges and privileges. It is not until we are placed in certain situations, certain communities and amongst certain people, that we can become aware.” She argues that through awareness, we can then act on these inequities.
“This is why it’s important for organisations to really use the intersectional approach whenever they are strategising, making work plans and creating activities. They need to look at an issue in its totality.” By better understanding the issue, organisations can address the various root causes of the problem. Ngamanya adds: “What you gain from [an intersectional approach] is that as an organisation, you will not constantly be looking at the same problem for twenty years or more.”
Ngamanya says that for individuals and organisations to move forward with an intersectional approach, the most important step is “identifying where you’re going wrong. It’s important to ask: what can we do differently, who is not in our space and why should they be in our space? I feel like once you start asking those questions, we’ll see that so many people are not in our spaces who would actually contribute significantly. It’s about asking the hard questions.”
Realising SRHR for all
It is inspiring to hear Ngamanya talk with such conviction about what is needed to achieve SRHR for all. “You need to realise that an individual is unique and that each and every service that you are going to give this person should be tailored to that individual. If you’re looking at a community, look at that community. If you’re looking at individuals, look at these individuals as unique as possible and that they all require specific interventions.” She adds: “Sometimes our issues might be the same. But then there is always a possibility that there will be an overlapping issue that would make us totally different.” Speaking with Ngamanya, we learn that it is ultimately about tailoring the service to each person and community, ensuring that they have a space where they feel safe to be themselves.
