CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin News
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
WOZA appeals to Zimbabwe police to refuse to arrest WOZA members during 16 Days of Activism.
25 November – Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) appeal to the Zimbabwean police to refuse to arrest the women of WOZA as we campaign peacefully during the 16 Days for Activism Against Gender Violence. We also call upon the Zimbabwean state to join us advocating for an end to violence against women.
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) is a civic movement for women to speak out and hold their government accountable. Our mandate is to conduct peaceful protests in defiance of unjust laws that violate our fundamental and god-given freedoms.
Through our actions, we create space to allow the general public to articulate issues they are too fearful to raise alone. WOZA has conducted over 30 protests in its three year existence. We recognise the sacrifice of over 800 women who have spent up to 48 hours in custody, some more than once. On 31 March this year, over 265 women and 20 babies spent a night in custody after conducting a prayer vigil on election night. These women, front-line human rights defenders, are willing to suffer beatings and unbearable conditions in prison cells to exercise their constitutional rights.
We have set ourselves up as a litmus test to prove that the power of love can conquer the love of power. ‘Tough Love’ is our secret weapon of mass mobilisation. We are mobilising Zimbabweans for an EVEolution, not a revolution.
'Tough Love' is the disciplining love of a parent; we must practice it and bring dignity back to our families. Tough Love from the grassroots is the solution to crisis of governance in Zimbabwe. Our rulers need some discipline; who better to dish it out than the women!
To celebrate our feminity, we adopted imaginative ways of highlighting our issues. The prevailing climate of fear has bred creativity and strategy to lessen the consequences. Unjust laws provided a means to make the injustices visible.
We have also used United Nations recognised days such as World Refugee Day and International Women’s Day to put forward every day issues affecting our well-being. This has helped us to be effective, to be able to bear the consequences and to continue to expand the women’s movement. We have adopted the high risk option of engaging in demonstrations in one of the most repressive countries, packaged it with love and determination, and added strategy and tactics that have made WOZA a force to be reckoned with. But most of all we took a nation without a means of holding leaders accountable for day to day suffering and showed them how groups can form an outlet to speak out. We have avoided becoming victims, and in the process, even enjoyed some fun and freedom.
We in WOZA believe that we must work to break the chain of oppression. Rhodesia had an elite group of capitalists oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality. Little seems to have changed – we now have Zimbabwe and a black elite group of capitalists oppressing people with unjust laws based on inequality.
Zimbabwe is a patriarchal society, but WOZA has managed to work exactly because of the dismissive, ‘what can women do’ attitude. What surprises we have in store for others who think we are the weaker sex!
Note to Editors
WOZA, the acronym of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, is an Ndebele word meaning ‘Come forward’. WOZA was formed in 2003 as a women’s civic movement to:
- Provide women, from all walks of life with a united voice to speak out on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.
- Empower female leadership that will lead community involvement in finding solutions to the current crisis.
- Encourage women to stand up for their rights and freedoms.
- Lobbying and advocacy on those issues affecting women.
For more information on WOZA, please contact Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu or Ellah Hwenzira on +263 91 300 456, +263 91 362 668 or +263 91 377 800 respectively.
