When I told my father I wanted to be a journalist he looked at me in shock and said, ‘But women journalists are loose…are you telling me that this is what you want for yourself?’ Never one to back down from a fight, that conversation ended in a fierce argument. My mother knew better than to intervene. I couldn’t understand how my father, with whom I watched Christiane Amanpour on CNN and Haru Mutasa on Al Jazeera, and who would sit with me and critique interview and reporting styles could possibly believe that journalism amounted to prostitution.

Having been in the field for a while now, I understand his position. Zimbabwe’s women journalists, more than women in any other profession, I think, suffer intolerable harassment and discrimination. It comes with the job. It really doesn’t matter which medium or establishment a woman works for, sexual harassment appears to be an industry standard. Scant attention is drawn to the sexual scandals that plague Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings; I suppose it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black. In 2009 numerous interns and women journalists filed harassment complaints against the then News and Current Affairs Manager Tarzen Mandizvidza and Reporters Manager O Brian Rwafa. A female respondent to a Gender Links survey regarding women in Zimbabwe’s media observed, ‘Where issues of sexual harassment or sexist language are concerned, women who raise these issues are often not taken seriously and in particular case of harassment, male bosses sympathise with those accused of harassment and at times try to underplay the charge at hand.’

This is aptly demonstrated by ZBH CEO, Happison Muchechetere who, at the time threatened to fire the women and labelled them ‘prostitutes’. ZBH sexual harassment issues are ongoing. This month the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists Secretary General, Foster Dongozi, told The Zimbabwean that there were escalating reports of female journalists being harassed on the job, especially at the state broadcaster where bosses were allegedly sexually harassing female reporters for roles as news readers.

New players in the media industry have also adopted the practice of objectifying and discriminating against women. Recently, Sokwanele reported that young female college graduates have lodged complaints that they are being asked on dates by some of the editors of the newly licensed media houses if they want to be employed.

The issues plaguing women in media are not confined to sexual harassment. A 2009 study conducted by Gender Links as part of the Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Southern African Media Survey found that although half of Zimbabwe’s media houses had gender parity targets, there were six times as many men as women in Zimbabwe media houses surveyed. This is surprising considering that women constitute the majority of media and communication studies students. The survey also found that men were more likely to be given higher remuneration and better working conditions than women.

Moreover, while women in Zimbabwean media houses are under-represented in most areas of work, (constituting 17% of editorial departments), they are found in higher proportions in support roles in areas considered “women’s work”. These include advertising and marketing (40%) and human resources (58%).

Fed up with this state of affairs, female media practitioners issued a statement this year in March, demanding an end to these unfair practices. Again very little notice was paid to it by the media in general, almost as if in collusion. The media is very quick to point out the failings of the government, but is selectively shortsighted when its own practices are corrupt and degrading.

Listen to excerpts from this interview here

Zimbabwe stands on the brink of change. Much has been made of the winds of the Arab Spring possibly being blown across Southern Africa, and in particular, in Zimbabwe. While there have been attempts at seeding civil disobedience via social media like Facebook by the born free tech savvy generation, this has failed, largely in part because those who wished to start the revolution were Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora. That is not to say that Zimbabwe’s young adults have given up.

Born in the late1970s and early 80s, the ‘born-free’ generation grew up in a Zimbabwe that had just attained her independence. The country was prosperous, and many black families became socially mobile moving into formerly white only neighbourhoods, schools and spheres of business, creating what became Zimbabwe’s black middle class. Economic opportunities in the new Zimbabwe were numerous, but this came to change after years of poor economic policies, mismanagement and corruption, culminating in the political and economic upheavals of the 2000s. 20 years after Independence, millions of young adults were migrating annually for tertiary education or economic opportunity. It is estimated that up to a quarter of Zimbabwe’s population lives outside of the country.

Lawyer and Human Rights Defender Tafadzwa Mugabe graduated from the University of Zimbabwe in 2002. Having worked with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, he has been at the forefront of the post independence struggle for democracy.

‘I strongly believe that the past decade has been really sad for our country to the extent that most of our families have been decimated by death or immigration and displacement for one reason or another. And the national psyche is very unstable, characterised by a lot of fear of the government, and I for one do not like that.’

The Zimbabwean state after 2000 became very repressive in an effort to stem criticism. This has resulted in the closing of democratic spaces, traditionally occupied by young adults, who have the energy to bring renewal to the country.  Despite the dire situation many young people find themselves in, they are not without hope for a change in Zimbabwe’s fortunes.

Dzikamai Bere, a social reformist and writer says,

“Now is the time for hope. There are times when you feel that things are hopeless. When you look at the political front you become quite hopeless. I will be blunt: when you look at the church you will also be hopeless because politicians have taken it over. When you look at civil society as well you can despair because the same evils that have befallen the politics of this country are also there. When you look at the media it’s the same. So sometimes you ask yourself where our salvation will come from. In the middle of all this, we the young people of Zimbabwe should not lose hope. We must believe that there is always space for transformation and there is always an opportunity for transformation. Here, now, it will have an effect in the future.”

Like the liberation struggle generation before them, the born free generation has a deep desire to contribute to the fruition of the dream that is Zimbabwe. For Rutendo Mudzamiri, who works with an organisation that encourages the active participation of women in political processes, there is no doubt about what is needed for Zimbabwe to move forward.

“It’s not about party politics anymore. Politicians will be there and politicians will not be there tomorrow, as citizens, as a people we need to be able to unite, we need to be able to speak with one voice on what we want regardless of political affiliation. We are Zimbabweans first. We need to be sure of what we want, we want better education, we want better health. As a nation the things that bring us together are more than the things that really divide us.”

She goes on to say, “as long as we have breath, as a young generation I believe that we can speak with one voice, we can come together, we can join forces, whether you’re in civic society or political parties. Like Ghandi said: ‘be the change that you want to see’. We are the change. The future is in our hands.”

Tafadzwa is also a firm but realistic believer in the future.

“There is great potential. I haven’t realised all my dreams yet, but I remain confident that this is the place for me. I don’t really think about going anywhere else. There are a lot of things I wish I could improve, about myself, about my situation, about my surroundings, but I’m still very optimistic that our time is coming. It’s on the horizon, and we will change what we will be able to change.”

Tafadzwa insists on holding Zimbabwe’s politicians accountable.

“I think there must be a change of mindset. The people that call themselves our leaders are there because of us. It is not a privilege for us to be led by them. As a Zimbabwean there are certain things that I expect from the people that are in a leadership position. There are certain things I should be able to go and freely claim as a right.”

Zimbabwe’s revolution is not going to take the form of those in Egypt and Tunisia. It is going to be a quiet one that involves a change in attitude, the engagement of compassion and small acts of resistance. Young adults are at the forefront of this movement; refusing to let a generation that is past it’s time to continue to renege on the promise of Independence.

Solidarity Peace Trust’s film, Part of the Solution, is a retrospective look at the political events in Zimbabwe in 2001 culminating in the SADC Troika memorandum of April 2011. The short film takes a look at the issue of the manipulation of the COPAC Constitutional Outreach programme and intimidation of villagers in the rural areas. It goes further to suggest that the outcome of the process may not have the people at its heart. The DVD moves on to examine incidents of politically motivated violence, particularly those in Mbare and Downtown Harare involving the youth. In view of the objectives of the Inclusive Government and the Global Political Agreement, these events are disheartening, leaving many Zimbabweans wondering if it is possible that the impending elections will be marred by violence and voter intimidation.

If you would like a copy of this DVD please email your postal address to: products [at] kubatana [dot] net

We must practice revolutionary democracy in every aspect of our Party life. Every responsible member must have the courage of his responsibilities, exacting from others a proper respect for his work and properly respecting the work of others. Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories.
- Amilcar Cabral

The Women’s Programme of the Research and Advocacy Unit recently produced a report on politically motivated Rape in Zimbabwe. In the report Zimbabwe is described as undergoing a ‘complex emergency’ that is a social catastrophe marked by the destruction of the affected populations political, economic, socio-cultural and healthcare infrastructure. It notes with concern the increasing use of rape in war and complex emergencies. Despite several United Nations resolutions being passed since 2000, only a small number of perpetrators of sexual violence against women have been convicted and jailed by international criminal tribunals for committing or commanding widespread sexual violence as a war crime.

The report notes that:

The phenomenon of violations against women is not a new thing in Zimbabwean politics; it has been reported in the majority of human rights reports produced both locally and internationally since 2000 when the political landscape changed with the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) posing a serious threat to the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU PF)s power-base in the June 2000 parliamentary elections. Before 2000 there were reports of rape particularly during the Liberation War and the Matabeleland massacres of the 1980s.

This report draws on several other reports by organisations such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, The Zimbabwe Peace Project, and Amani Trust, and points out the difficulty of inferring the national prevalence of politically motivated rape.

RAU conducted its most recent research study in 2010 in collaboration with Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, using 27 sworn legal affidavits and medical examinations of women who were raped because of their political activity or the political activity of their husbands. Rapes were reported as occurring in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2008. While the highest prevalence of 89% was in 2008, the report states that there is no suggestion that rape was actually more common in 2008 than in any other year. The report states that the sexual assaults reported were extremely distressing, with horrific accounts of gang rape.

The RAU/ ZDHR study included the following recommendations:

A multi-sectoral investigation into politically motivated rape, led by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, together with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, should be undertaken on a large scale countrywide;

In light of the fact that elections are likely to be held in 2011, the government of Zimbabwe should ensure that women are protected from politically motivated rape, before, during, and after the election period.

It’s always a moment of pride when I find a Zimbabwean author mentioned in the international media. What is largely published about Zimbabwe does a disservice to our country and us. Ours is not a single story. It is always a particularly proud moment when I find that the author is also a woman.  The shortlist for the Twelfth Caine Prize for African Writing was announced recently and Zimbabwean author Noviolet Bulawayo has been shortlisted for her story Hitting Budapest.

Of course the most internationally recognizable Zimbabwean women writers are Tsitsi Dangarembga, Yvonne Vera and more recently Petina Gappah. In an interview with Mazwi literary journal Noviolet discusses why there are only a handful of Zimbabwean women writers:

Of course there are a host of reasons, but I think it also speaks to the trying circumstances of African women, not just Zimbabwean women by the way, as the group that comes last in everything and writing is no exception. Of cause this is compounded by the politics of the publishing industry. Still, I believe Zimbabwean women have compelling stories and those who are writing are doing a good job representing, and I’d like to especially thank those who are writing from Zimbabwe, the little known and unknown ones. To me those are the bad-ass writers, imagine knowing you will never be read beyond your borders, never be an international star but still writing all the same! That’s writing as speaking, as insisting on one’s presence and I think that’s deep.