Yes, it’s good to have our kids back home now that the schools in Zimbabwe have closed for holidays but it’s also interesting to see how life in our high density suburbs changes over this period.

While there are so many libraries in my community you won’t find the kids there. Instead the Internet Cafés are always packed, and the dressing is something else! Half-naked girls and the guys in oversized trousers.

Then suddenly there is confusion between an adult and a student, as the two can now share the same table and drink opaque beer at beer halls.

And there’s chaos at bus terminals creating transport problems because of the students boarding buses and emergency taxis (ET’s) just to have some fun in town.

Sadly, with the desperate socio-eco-political environment and the failing educational system challenges that include astronomically exorbitant fees beyond the reach of the majority, many kids are dropping out of school to become house-maids, well-diggers, grave-diggers and stone crushers.

Poverty, hunger, disease and violence, together with their closest ally, illiteracy, have become distinct features of degraded social conditions in many of our communities. Education, as a vehicle to facilitate peace and development, is undoubtedly of great significance to everyone.

It was nice to see Zimbabwe get a bit of positive media coverage for a change these past few days. Kirsty Coventry won a silver medal as well as broke a world record in the 100m backstroke at the Olympics in China. Amanda thinks the Olympics are just too overrated. Had she seen the illustriously extravagant opening ceremony, the term overrated would be an understatement. Unfortunately she doesn’t watch TV. In fact, she doesn’t want to own one, but that’s another story.

Its horrendous human rights record aside, all eyes are currently on China and for a while, people are just so sick and tired of politics they want to concentrate on the games for a change. Latest squabbles between Russia and Georgia have also partially displaced Zimbabwe from the limelight of the media’s watchful glare.

However, the media have kept half an eye on the secret talks which have apparently once more sort of ended in deadlock. Prior to Mbeki’s recent visit to Harare over the weekend, the media reported that he was carrying the proposal that Mugabe be granted amnesty and would become ceremonial president while Tsvangirai becomes executive president.

This morning, South Africa’s ETV showed footage of a clearly unamused Tsvangirai storming out of the talks last night. Mbeki denies there is a deadlock but rather some sort of break to give Tsvangirai a chance to dwell over a certain proposition that Mutambara and Mugabe already find agreeable. I thought if these people were understanding each other, Tsvangirai would not storm out looking like that. And as for Mutambara, there’s one guy most of us really couldn’t care less about, I mean, who is he reallyin all of this? He is proving more and more to be a yes-man whose behavior smacks of someone who simply wants in for some piece of the action.

The ever-optimistic Herald newspaper today carried on its front page a misleading bold headline that shouted: DEAL SEALED. Anxious and information hungry Zimbabweans probably rushed to buy this paper hoping for some workable conclusion to this impasse, only to be disappointed for the umpteenth time since the talks started. The so-called deal is an agreement between Mugabe and Mutambara paving way for Mugabe to form the next government. Well, they can agree all they want but Mutambara won no election and therefore his opinion doesn’t count.

Surely we are getting exhausted with these talks that will not end. With the imposed media blackout, there is no way the rest of us can find out what it is exactly that these guys are failing to agree on. But we can however, make intelligent guesses.

Knowing Uncle Bob as well as we all do, there is no way he would agree to becoming ceremonial president, he may be getting old but not foolish. We also know that the JOC would not be too excited at the prospect of serving under Tsvangirai, and would also like to save their butts for their own personal crimes. In this light, one can safely assume that Mbeki’s said proposal was thrown in the bin and fresh proposals that have Tsvangirai as another vice-president or some shitty arrangement like that were tabled and that is why he stormed out. I’m sure a lot of Zimbabweans would rather he ship out than agree to play second fiddle and as Tendai Biti said, ngavatonge tione (let’s watch and let them rule).

The disagreement is most likely that Mugabe simply wont cooperate with anything that will see him become anything less than what he is now. Despite the fact that the economy is ailing and people continue to suffer, Zanu PF is the kind that operates with suicide bomber mentality and would go down with the country first before they relinquish power.

Women have always played a critical role during times of conflict. Women had the power to influence their men’s behavior during war either by cheering them on through singing and dancing to militant songs, or they could appeal to the conscience of men at war by singing songs of peace and non- violence.

In times of conflict, often it is the women and children who suffer the most. It is they that bear the brunt of sourcing scarce basic commodities; taking care of the sick and in the middle of it all, are often sexually violated. Recognition of this vulnerability in times of conflict then forms the driving force that motivates women to agitate for peace.

Conflict, in simple terms, may be described as the relationship between two or more parties who have or who think they have incompatible goals.

Currently in Zimbabwe a lot of conflicts are taking place all at once and women and children are caught in the cross-fire. The clashes between the two main political parties have resulted in a lot of beatings, abductions, rape and inhuman torture. In the post-election period there continues to be reports of women who are still being held captive and raped in militia camps. Meanwhile the leadership deadlock continues. It seems the only hope for a lot of Zimbabweans hinges on the talks. However, even that is looking less and less hopeful; already shrouded in a lot of skepticism and having already missed the deadline. And . . . only about two women are present at those talks.

Conflict can only be resolved after careful mapping of all the concerned stakeholders. Representatives from all the groups of relevant stakeholders must be allowed the opportunity to come together for dialogue, where everyone’s concerns are tabled and discussed. Oftentimes it is the absence of dialogue that results in a lot of misunderstanding, suspicion and differences in perception simply because the one side does not know what the other thinks or feels.

In this context, a new member from the women’s movement has been born with the view to re-establish the crucial role that women have traditionally played in resolving conflict. Aptly named Envision Zimbabwe Women’s Trust, the organization, spearheaded by Fay Chung and Trudy Stevenson among others, is driven by the change they would like to see.

Among the Trust’s objectives is the need to agitate for accountability through seeking dialogue with existing power structures in order to address the various challenges affecting Zimbabweans, especially women. The group is also driven by a desire to bring perpetrators of violence to justice.

Envision Zimbabwe will be central in the process of conflict transformation through playing the intermediary role of presenting issues on the ground to relevant authorities as well as brokering the space for dialogue among all relevant stakeholders that is crucial for the realization of resolution to conflict.

A couple weeks ago I was working on International Video Fair Trust’s (IVF) Sex in the City of Harare Project. My feelings at the time were excitement around discovering that talking about sex in Zimbabwe, it turns out, is not all that taboo. My feelings have not changed. The fourteen participants (seven men and seven women) were indeed brave over the course of six days of filming at a hotel in the Avenues. They were part of a revolutionary project; an important step toward breaking taboos and creating spaces to talk about sex, not only in English, but also in local languages. The participants professions included a soon-to-be radiographer, pastor, personal assistant, and journalist among others. They were aged between 23 and 53. Some were single and some were married. Some were parents and some were not. One participant, with heartwarming honesty, spoke about why he was choosing to wait until he was married before he had sex. And much to his credit, he embraced being the lone virgin in the group with a sense of humor. After watching the film Spreading the Word, which traces the making of Eve Ensler’s award winning play Vagina Monologues in Botswana and Mozambique, the group ended up conveying their own vagina monologues. And penis monologues. As I said, with a sweet sense of humor, this young man said: I don’t yet have much use for my penis. But of course humans are sexual beings and it was clear that he emphasized “yet” in his comment.

During the production, the participants looked at issues pertaining to sexuality such as self-awareness and whether sex involves pleasure or pain or both and to what extent. They talked about gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS. And they talked and talked, in detail, about their sex lives. We learned about the ways (male and female) condoms can be an exciting part of foreplay. Some participants shared personal stories concerning how experiences with violence and/or sexual abuse have shaped their sex lives. There was discussion of the ways certain sexual positions are more pleasurable for men while other sexual positions are more pleasurable for women. The project benefited greatly when a facilitator from Padare-Enkundleni/Men’s Forum on Gender joined us for one-day. His calm, caring, and adept persona blended with his ardent stance as a gender activist/feminist created a positive space for people to speak about vulnerabilities in general and in relation to one’s sex life.

The participants laughed; some cried. But most of all they relished in the opportunity to share, open up, and expand their sexual minds. There were some tense moments, largely around recognizing that opening up and expanding the mind carries different levels and degrees for each individual. Some participants discovered that, in comparison to others, they were not as open about sex as they might have thought they were. These levels and degrees of openness pose challenges in conceptualizing and producing a film. Yet they are exciting challenges, ones that potentially make this film groundbreaking. The challenges raise important questions about how to productively balance the ways people might be simultaneously (perhaps paradoxically?) open to talk about sex, but at the same time, have firmly fixed views about what sex entails. This is to say that speaking openly about sex is not necessarily the same as having an open mind about sex. Seems that sex is a topic which requires a lot of self-exploration. To really ask yourself: How open am I to understand and embrace the diversity of sexual desires, practices, and acts that do very much exist in the present, and also to engage in connecting the present to the past and reality to imagination?

The participants signed up for various reasons, but all signed up eagerly. Not surprisingly, one of the first people to respond to the call for participants was Grace Mutandwa, a prominent journalist, who back in the day, wrote a weekly column that explored issues of sexuality. She is also the author of the excellent novel Whose Daughter My Child?. Grace’s participation was invaluable and one interesting thing with her presence was that the group remembered her column, with interest and admiration. This is a column she stopped writing in 2002, yet six years later it remains prominently on people’s minds. Grace indicated in her application she has been able to “vault over the cultural barrier where sex is a taboo issue”. Seems to me, given the sustained interest in her column, Zimbabweans are seeking spaces to read and speak about sex and a great many Zimbabweans have vaulted over the cultural barrier where sex is a taboo issue (or at least want to).

Spending six days/five nights on location seemed to create a great sense of camaraderie among the group. Also, it seemed that, in stepping away from everyday life, people used this experience to get to know their sexual selves more intimately. By embracing the experience in this way, everyone involved learned an awful lot about the lives of the participants. The researcher in me is gushing over this as it represents incredible data. But there also was a touching aspect to this. I enjoyed, on Friday during the closing reception, seeing the everyday re-enter the participant’s lives. Suddenly some of the significant others joined the group; they were physically present as opposed to the previous days when they were spoken about. When I met one participant’s husband I felt like I knew him already. It’s interesting and as I said touching. In a sweet and encouraging way. He was the husband of the oldest participant, a 53 year old woman. This participant, throughout the week, had spoken openly and with from the gut honesty that comes with age and experience. I suppose that’s big reason why when I met her husband I was seeing a couple who have had an enjoyable sex life for 32 years as well as a happy marriage for 32 years. And I think there’s another 32 years in their future.

All this said, Sex in the City of Harare and all its boldness and openness is moving forward. The second stage of the filming will take place by September and will include interviews with prominent personalities. The film is due for release in 2009. Sex in the City of Harare is being produced by the International Video Fair Trust as part of the Zimbabwe Film Practitioners Joint Programme funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Harare.

If the rumours swirling round the press are anything to be believed, Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara and Robert Mugabe are on the verge of signing a power sharing agreement between Zanu PF and the two formations of the MDC.

If these rumours are true, I’m impressed by both the speed with which the negotiations have proceeded, and the fact that the talks stalled as infrequently as they reportedly did.

I haven’t seen the reported 50-page draft of the agreement. And perhaps the whole story is yet another fabrication for the press. But if the contents of what is signed resembles what The Star’s Fiona Forde is reporting, I have some deep misgivings.

Some key points of the proposed agreement include:

• Morgan Tsvangirai to be appointed as a Senator and then to take up the role of Executive Prime Minister
• Robert Mugabe to be President – with a position-for-life of Founding President, (if and) when he retires
• Blanket amnesty for all Zimbabweans “who in the course of upholding or opposing the aims and policies of the Government of Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF or either formation of the MDC, may have committed crimes within Zimbabwe.”

Apparently the time frame is still at issue – the MDC envisages a 24-30 month time frame – which may make this arrangement feel like a long transition, but importantly, it’s a transition nonetheless. Zanu PF, on the other hand, is reportedly arguing for a 5 year time frame – this doesn’t make it a transitional arrangement, it makes it the duly constituted government until the next scheduled elections in 2013.

I’m a bit more at ease if, indeed, this is a temporary measure, with the promise of a transitional Constitution, but I still believe that the political parties are negotiating away certain fundamental issues, without opening up the debate to public discussion and input.

One of my colleagues in civil society recently wrote in an email discussion forum:

If the Zimbabwean citizenry vote in a government and a political party, and most of those in civics voted in that party, and then the outgoing party refuses to leave, why do the civics do anything but support the party that they voted in?

But to me that question is missing the point. These negotiations aren’t moving towards simply installing the party which most Zimbabweans voted for in the March Harmonised Election into power. They’re moving towards some form of negotiated settlement – about which there has been no election. Zimbabweans haven’t voted for who they’d want in a “coalition government” or whether they’d prefer a Government of National Unity as opposed to a Transitional Authority, or how they’d want such an arrangement to be structured.

And Zimbabweans certainly haven’t voted for a blanket amnesty for all political crimes – from Gukurahundi onwards. To paraphrase Spinoza, “peace is not the absence of war, it’s the presence of justice.” Zimbabwean analyst Knox Chitiyo may be willing to make the long-term sacrifice of justice for the short-term promise of peace, but is the rest of the country?

According to Forde, MDC and Zanu PF to divide key ministries – reportedly Zanu PF to take Defence, and the MDC to take Home Affairs. This, she speculates, would make campaigning in the next election more even: with control of Home Affairs, the MDC would have control of the police force, which would enable them to guarantee greater civic freedoms to demonstrate and assemble. But what about the role which the army has played in clamping down on public protest and gatherings? Not to mention groupings like the so-called war veterans and youth militia. And what about other basic rights like press and broadcast freedom?

Where is the referendum on these issues – and the independent body to oversee such a referendum to ensure that it was not subject to the same electoral machinery that Zimbabwe’s recent elections have suffered from? Where is the process for developing a new Constitution for Zimbabwe – not just the 19th Amendment, which would be required to, for example, (re)create the position of Prime Minister and define the roles of the Executive President?

As Mukoma Wa Ngugi wrote recently:

A power-sharing agreement that brings about a “Government of National Unity,” or a transitional authority, will in fact be undermining the most basic and important principle of democracy: the vote.

Our lone air force jet fighter is buzzing Harare skies again. This time in preparation for Heroes’ Day (11 August) and Armed Forces Day (12 August) celebrations. The Herald cartoonist, I Mpofu, appears in an unusually pensive mood today asking whether any heroes will emerge from these talks? Good question.