I received an email about an interactive discussion under the theme Feminist Currents. I quite like the concept of currents. That individuals tap into ideas, debate, and formulate expressions around various issues. In these spaces individual and collective thought processes foster intellectual growth and abilities to envision and act on long-term strategies for the redress of injustices. In Zimbabwe there are currents which desire political change – and in my mind, they are feminist currents.

The interactive discussion proposed to examine feminist currents through posing questions, including: Was Elizabeth Edwards right when she claimed her husband (democratic candidate John Edwards) was more of a feminist than Hillary Clinton? Who should Black women support: Obama or Clinton? These two questions got me thinking about what feminism is all about and why it’s often a taboo word in Zimbabwe. Seems to me the taboo-ness is a result of narrowly equating feminism to a singular (Western) line of thought only concerning (white) women. More accurately, feminisms concern men, women, and children regardless of the colour of their skin. They seek to represent a range of voices which outline affinities and differences while also attending to the sundry mixture of divergences and paradoxes to build more pliable understandings of and solutions to complex issues within the human condition. Simply put, feminisms are lines of thinking. They are expansive, inclusive, attentive to diversity, and vibrant currents aiming to advance positive change. A poem by Betty Makoni of the Girl Child Network serves as a useful reminder of what is meant by feminist currents and the ways they are visionary. The poem was published by Pambazuka and is entitled Promises, Choices, Spaces: Voices for Women. The opening stanza is as follows:

Ever seen a four every word punctuated title?
Question mark? comma, full stop. exclamation mark ! in one
Women lives full of thus
Patriarchy domineering , feminism under backlash
Women have negotiated, still negotiate, will ever negotiate
Promises promised, never premised
Spaces shrunk, voices thwarted
Seems this men’s world, makes and breaks laws
Makes and breaks promises
Women lives punctuated, back and forth

Yes, Makoni’s poem focuses on women. However, the stanza above and the piece overall articulates feminist currents which are about change as well as the ideas, hopes, dreams, and intellect pertaining to peace and equality. I made a few word changes in the poem to further emphasis the relevance feminist currents hold in Zimbabwe and the world over.

Promises, Choices, Spaces: Voices for Zimbabweans

Ever seen a four every word punctuated title?
Question mark? comma, full stop. exclamation mark! in one
Zimbabwean lives full of thus
Patronage domineering, equality under backlash
Citizens have negotiated, still negotiate, will ever negotiate
Promises promised, never premised
Spaces shrunk, voices thwarted
Seems this government’s world, makes and breaks laws
Makes and breaks promises
Too many lives punctuated, back and forth

Yesterday, The MDC announced that it is withdrawing from Friday’s presidential run off election, citing state-sponsored violence and a subversion of the electoral process.

We asked our subscribers to text and email us their thoughts on this announcement. The responses in favour of the withdrawal dramatically outweighed those who opposed the decision – by a factor of about 4:1. Those in favour of the withdrawal mainly hoped that this would ease the violence prevailing in Zimbabwe. Those opposed saw the withdrawal as a betrayal of the MDC’s promise of change.

We share some of these responses below:

Supporting withdrawal

Bold decision. Who was going to cast a secret vote when all people are listed in a book & given numbers to check who you voted for?

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From a naive point of view it might seem as if its an ill advised move however if you go beyond the obvious Tsvangirai has once again showed the world what being a true leader is thus the decision was very calculating and that’s what Zimbabwe needs.

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I do believe that under the current circumstances this was the right choice. The loss of life cannot in anyway justify an election that has been fraught with problems from day one.

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Its necessary for him to pull out of the run-off becoz pple have killed and many have lost their homes.

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MDC Pull out in the face of violence saves lives. But what’s our plan B 2avoid political irrelevance & redundancy?

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Positive move coz contesting will legitimize a fraudulent election and saves pple here in Chiweshe where we witnessed a gruesome attack yesterday where a whole family was killed.

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Good idea. Leave those greedy for power rule. Their selfishness will soon be exposed. Innocent blood has been shed. Let it be.

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I really think it’s in order it’s certainly better than engaging in an exercise whose sole reason is to legitimise a despotic ruler.

Opposed to withdrawal

When dozens of Zimbabweans died in Chimio Mugabe did not stop the struggle or pull out he even offered more grit despite the deaths. Now with less than 100 pple dead Tsvangirai is pulling out of a historic election it is a betrayal to the 70+ pple that have died 4 a new beginning.

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As a fellow citizen I definitely condemn such a move as l believe this is a betrayal of the people’s revolution.

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He shld have nt withdrawn he would have betrayed the people who died got beaten displaced for him. In any struggle there are causalities.

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If he pulls out we r dead. The violence we r facing is more than we can take.

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No he must not pull out as it gives us a chance to show our views becoz we have been beaten others killed that we be for nothing.

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Tsvangirai must participate in the run-off his position to pull out is a cowardly act and a betrayal to all those killed and assaulted in the name of change.

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Our pres Tsvangirai has let e pple down & he throws away e hopes 4 a betta zim after so many deaths from our fellow MDC Supporters. He must b a man a stand e fight.

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Morgan should not withdraw from the elections. If he does so, he will have betrayed the movement and he will have betrayed us, as his supporters. What Morgan should understand is that there is no easy road to democracy. He has experienced that through these years after being tormented, beaten and persecuted by the Mugabe regime. The killings, intimidations and beatings currently taking place should not make Morgan to reverse his participation decision. This is a sign that ZANU PF’s rule is about to come to an end. The God of the moment is about to deliver us from the rule of ZANU PF. The example is provided for in the bible. Not all of the children of israel reached Cannan. Same applies to our situation. Not all of us will reach the New Zimbabwe. Some of us will die on the way, the other ones will reach hospitalised, whilst others will get into the new Zimbabwe with bruises. This situation should not dishearten Morgan. We are with him. We will not let him down and God is with him. This is a do or die situation and he can not give up at the last minute.

I took myself to a café this morning for some quiet Sunday reading – the Human Rights Watch report on state-sponsored violence since Zimbabwe’s 29 March elections.

Its title is derived from a chilling comment made by soldiers addressing villagers in Karoi: “You have seen the bullets. We have enough for each one of you, so beware if you vote for MDC in the presidential runoff election.”

The report uses personal testimonies to tell the stories of post election violence. It illustrates how blatantly the very name of Operation Makavhoterapapi (How did you vote) violates the notion of being free to vote for the candidate of your choice, according to your conscience. How can my vote be my secret if the government then launches a campaign to punish me because of how I voted?

Human Rights Watch describes how the violence has followed polling station returns – in places where a polling station showed many votes for the MDC, the violence has been worse. And HRW paints a vivid picture of the mindset that views being an MDC activist, or listening to Studio 7 VOA, or being friends with an MDC supporter, as a criminal activity, deserving of punishment.

But the report does not really examine why things have gotten that way. It doesn’t ask what makes someone so angry they would beat someone else with a log. It doesn’t examine what the “youths” who do the beating are told that make them willing to be so brutal. And it doesn’t examine why their higher-ups tell them those things in the first place. To me, these are the real questions.

For the higher-ups, clearly, the answer lies in what they have to lose, and what they risk being held accountable for should they lose the protection of their position. But

I came across a Harriet Tubman quotation the other day which resonated with me: “If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.” Maybe it sounds presumptuous. But I think there’s a lot of truth in that. Right now, Zanu PF is effectively convincing people that the causes of unemployment, inflation and the country’s collapse rest with the MDC, the British, the imperialists and the colonisers. In the absence of accessible information which counters this, some people accept this explanation, and then act accordingly.

Regardless of whether Friday’s election happens, and how it turns out, if we are ever to rebuild this country, one of the biggest jobs ahead of us is to make widely accessible impartial, reasoned, clear and convincing explanations for why we have gotten to where we are.

MTV’s US university campus outreach wing is promoting the Avaaz petition on Zimbabwe. Their site includes several different advocacy videos, a piece by the Dispatch Foundation, and a series of short video interviews with Morgan Tsvangirai on questions like “What do you think young people can do to help the situation?”, “Do you believe music is a force for mobilising change?” and “Power Corrupts – how do you make sure this doesn’t happen to you if you come into power.” Have a look here.

I woke up this morning to find my neighbourhood a sea of green and yellow. Zanu PF had plastered the place with posters – not one or two here or there, but entire walls recovered with posters. The supermarket, the garage, the shops, the banks, everywhere – wall-to-wall Bob. Some of the vendors even were wearing Zanu PF headbands – because they’re planning to vote for Mugabe next Friday? Or because that makes them feel safer, protected?

The latest slogan on the posters is telling. We’ve moved beyond 100% Total Empowerment. Now the posters, with the smiling face of a 60-year-old Bob, looking young and trim, tell us: This is the final battle for total control.

Political campaigns often use war metaphors to make a point. But in Zimbabwe, that slogan isn’t symbolic, it’s literal.

A subscriber, Livingston, recently wrote to us with some useful reminders for next Friday’s election:

I would like to remind Zimbabweans that this election is not about how many people Mugabe is going to kill, butcher, murder, rape, torch for him to win or how many rallies Mugabe is going to hold for him to win or how many posters Mugabe is going to put up for him to win or how big Mugabe’s posters are for him to win. This election is about the stomach. This election is about food. This election is about the future of our children. This election is about our education. This election is about our health delivering system. This election is about our freedom of expression, association as well as worship. This election is about a government of the people by the people. This election is about our dignity. This election is not about how many hate stories or speeches ZTV, Herald, Sunday Mail, Kwayedza, The Voice, The Chronicle, Manica Post are going to publish for Mugabe to win. This election is about getting rid of brutality, maiming, hate. This election is about Zimbabwe. This election is about getting rid of Mugabe. Yes getting rid of Mugabe. Together on 27 June let’s vote the Tyrant Mugabe out of office. This election is not about the past. This election is about the future. People of Zimbabwe let’s unite against brutality, murder, torture, and rape. Let’s unite against poverty. Let’s unite against hunger. Let’s unite against power cuts. Let’s unite against Chatunga and free ourselves. Together with Love, Care and Sympathy we shall conquer.