Sandra Tembo walks past a billboard on her way to Mbare vegetable market in Harare, Zimbabwe, that gives advice she says friends can’t afford to follow: “Your future is brighter without a sugar daddy.”

“I’m sure they realize the risk,” Tembo, a 20-year-old dressmaking student, said of the friends. “But they say being broke all the time also has its dangers, as you could starve.”

African girls who sell themselves for sex to older men, known as sugar daddies, are fueling an AIDS epidemic in Sub- Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds of all people infected with the HIV virus. Young women in the region have HIV infection rates three times higher than young men: 3.4 percent of women aged 15 to 24 and 1.4 percent for men in the same age group.

Now the World Bank is proposing to pay girls like Tembo’s friends as an incentive to keep them in school and prevent AIDS. Cash may be the “ethical policy instrument” of the 21st century, said Mead Over, a health economist at the Center for Global Development, a research organization in Washington.

Read more from Bloomberg.com

Pride Nleya* is the wife of one of the activists detained with Munyaradzi Gwisai. They are currently awaiting a bail hearing on Wednesday 16 March.

How has his detention affected you?
Since we’ve been married we have never been apart for such a long period of time. Even when he was away for work, we would call each other everyday and communicate on Skype and email. With him being in remand, when I first heard I was shocked. I panicked because I didn’t really know what was going to happen. I took comfort in the number of people who had also been arrested with him, thinking that at least if there are so many, maybe nothing will happen. Initially when they were taken in and the State said it would take seven people to court, I panicked thinking of the Jestina Mukoko case. You know, you feel helpless because you don’t who to approach or where to go for help. All you can do is wait at Central police where no one tells anything. At the end of the day you don’t really feel safe.

If we didn’t have a child I think I would have taken it differently, but with a child, especially them being so close – they are like best friends, they do everything together. And she is used to her father calling even late at night to talk to her when he is away. Now we can’t communicate, and I can’t tell her her father is in prison for something that I’m not even sure of. With such a high charge, she can’t really comprehend what is going on. I know it would knock her hard if she found out. I’ve only just now gotten used to the idea that he’s in prison and it might take a while for him to get out, but looking at our daughter, I wonder if it’s ever going to be alright, and I’m not sure what to do, if I should tell her. This is one of the biggest challenges of our marriage. Not being in control, and not being able to help him the way I would want.  It’s one of those things I can’t get my mind around.

What do you miss most about him?
Now that he’s in there, and I can only see him with a screen between us it’s like there’s a big, big, big wall between us and I can’t say something of the small nothings that we used to say to each other. There is no one to share that with. It’s just his presence, knowing that he’s there at home that I really miss. Just knowing that he’ll be back at home.

Has this situation changed the way you feel about his work?
No, if anything I think it has changed my perceptions as a citizen of Zimbabwe. At one point I thought I would quit my job and find another where I would have a platform to challenge the government. To me I don’t see anything wrong with what they were doing. They were having a meeting. The only charge I expected from the police was maybe public disorder but for them to say it’s treason? For the first four days of his incarceration I wasn’t even allowed to see him.

I used to be so scared because I knew the kind of environment that we live in; things like this were always going to happen. But you get used to this kind of thing and when it’s someone else it’s not the same as when it’s someone close to you. When you feel that there is so much injustice and you feel useless, hopeless and you can’t do anything. That’s what eats me up, that I don’t have a voice, even if I shout scream pull my hair out no one will listen. But one day I will find a way.

What is the first thing that you will say to your husband when he is released?
I’m not too sure. Maybe that I love him, or that I missed him. It’s like you’re in an emotional whirlpool, sometimes you are strong the next moment you realise you are not in control, and then you feel that you are not so strong. It’s really difficult for me to say; maybe I’ll just cry when I look at him, I’m not too sure.

* Not her real name

Shantha Bloemen is Munyaradzi Gwisai’s partner. Munyaradzi Gwisai is the general co-ordinator of the International Socialist Organisation. In February he and 45 others were arrested after meeting to discuss the events in Egypt and Tunisia. They are being charged with treason. 39 of them were released, however Gwisai and five others are still remanded in police custody.

How did you feel when you found out Munya was arrested?
I was in New York where I had been assigned to work for a month and it was my second weekend. I was with my son on a train out to see my old roommate, and an ISO member called me. It took me a minute before I understood that they weren’t looking for Munya, and that he had been arrested. I was in shock. As soon as I got to my friend’s house I was both emotional and went into ‘what do I do to try and help’ especially feeling so far away. I got on email and blasted what I knew to as many people as I could. At that stage it wasn’t clear about the numbers and there was confusion.

What was your reaction to the charge of treason?
I was in New York, but I did get to speak to Munya briefly when they were on their way to court. The first time and they were sent back. At this point we didn’t know what the charges were. We thought it would be subversion and he was certain that they would be out in a few days. I felt like I was in my own little war room, working to get the story out, and then I got on a flight on Friday night, and by then we knew it was treason. It was incredible. It was a surreal experience, and we had a long flight back, which was obviously painful because you’re sitting there feeling frustrated. I was with our son, and of course he knows because it’s impossible not to discuss it. It was difficult having to contain my emotions, and also try and guard what I said so not to confuse him further or stress him out further. Every time I speak to him he says ‘when is Baba coming home?’ and he’s very angry. It’s terrible, you don’t want your kids to be afraid of the police, you don’t want them to be afraid of the state authorities, but you don’t want them to think that their dad’s done anything wrong. It’s very hard to explain bad governance and democracy and other lofty issues to a four and a half year old.

What has been the most difficult part of this situation for you?
In some ways this has been life changing for me personally. It’s now in its third week and I feel I’ve coped by keeping busy and trying to do as much practical stuff as I can, whether it be getting attention or trying to help the families of those that were detained, or raising money for the bail. But it’s also been an insight into what going on in Zimbabwe. I lived here in 2004 but sadly it feels like there is so much fear and paranoia and you don’t know what’s real and what’s not real. That feels much more entrenched than when I lived here. I feel like there’s a growing economic divide, and the northern suburbs of Harare are beautiful and filled with supermarkets that are filled with people who have fancy cars so I’m trying to make sense of it all. I’ve come regularly over the past few years, but this time it’s been such an intense experience I don’t know yet how to make sense of everything that’s going on.

What do you miss most about him?
Being able to talk to him. Munya and I are both very independent people, but we have a very strong commitment to each other, and we talk with each other. He’s a much calmer person than I am. It’s funny, as I’ve been getting anxious in the last few days and most probably losing my cool with people I shouldn’t, he’s the one who, when I saw him briefly yesterday, was like ‘stay calm, stay calm’. I was like ‘you know what I don’t know if I can do that, and it’s not in my nature like it is in yours’, but I keep on thinking he would want me to try not to lose my cool. I suppose now it’s thinking how he will also be changed by this experience. I just met some of those released and hearing bits and pieces of their story, I know they had a very distressing time.

Have you cried?
Oh yes a lot. Shouted, cried … the whole gamut. I’ve been calmer since I got access to see him, even though its from behind a thick metal grille, but that’s definitely helped to keep me focused on the fact that he’s there and he’s alive and he’s coming back. My emotions have shifted from being extremely angry to being upset, and frustrated wondering what else haven’t I done that could be useful.

In some ways I feel more defiant myself now. I feel that we should stop letting ourselves be intimidated. Now it’s how do we use that energy and that feeling constructively to do practical concrete things that help people who are even more at risk than Munya and I, who are living in the poorest parts of the city who are threatened, and intimidated everyday. That’s the biggest challenge going forward. How do we show solidarity in a practical way with those people?

Because if we don’t and if everyone gives up then where will we be?

The 8th of March was International Women’s Day and this year was the 100th year since the first Women’s Day was celebrated. As women around the world gathered to celebrate, the Zimbabwe Women Writers organisation took time to mark this remarkable event under the theme, “Promoting equal access to education through literacy”. Women writers both urban and rural, ZWW board and staff, partners and sponsors of ZWW, and the guest of honor Dr Thokozile Chitepo who is the chairperson of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe graced the occasion.

The organisation also took time to celebrate its twenty years of existence. “Gazing at the Environment” was ZWW’s first publication published in 1992. Their latest publication is “The African Tea Cosy” by Violet Masilo. But even in the midst of celebrations the organisation acknowledged that there is a daunting task ahead of them. ZWW believes in women uplifting each other and rejects the pulling each down syndrome. This is evident of the anthologies the organisation publishes – without team spirit these would not have been achieved.

The Zimbabwe Women Writers also launched their Women’s Voices Project. The role of the Women’s Voices initiative will be to advocate the use of hybrid new media amongst women writers and providing a platform for them to interact. The initiative is to take a global stance, thus it will encourage cultural exchange and knowledge sharing. This project is, ‘committed to articulating women’s voices’, as held by ZWW Director Audrey Charamba.

It was uplifting to hear performance of poems by women and speeches from members of ZWW board who have been with the organisation since its inception. Women celebrated victories by singing:

Semadzimai emuZimbabwe takamirira zvakaoma
Kurema kwazvo kunoda madzimai
Azvina mhosva nyango zvorema
Takamirira zvakaoma

From PlusNews:

NAIROBI — As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, women and girls across the globe continue to be disproportionately affected by the AIDS pandemic – HIV is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age worldwide.

IRIN/PlusNews presents five important ways to reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV:

Education: According to UNAIDS, illiterate women are four times more likely to believe there is no way to prevent HIV infection, while in Africa and Latin America, girls with higher levels of education tend to delay first sexual experience and are more likely to insist their partner use a condom. Educating girls has the added advantage of delaying their marriage and increasing their earning ability, both of which reduce their vulnerability to HIV. Educated women are also more likely to access health services for themselves and their children, and to oppose negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

Access to reproductive health services: In many developing countries, women have very limited access to vital reproductive health services. A combination of biological and social factors means women are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which, if left untreated, increase their vulnerability to HIV. Women living in humanitarian crises are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and require services such as free, easily available condoms and safe blood for transfusions. Improving access to reproductive health services enables women to make informed choices in determining family size and preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission.

Ending gender violence: One in three women has been beaten, experienced sexual violence or otherwise abused in their lifetime, according to the UN; one in five will be a victim of rape or attempted rape. More often than not, the perpetrators are known to the women. Practices such as early marriage, FGM/C and human trafficking all increase women’s vulnerability to HIV, but more accepted forms of violence, such as marital rape, also play a large part in increasing women’s HIV risk. According to UNAIDS, investment in HIV programming policies and addressing gender inequality and gender-based violence will help to achieve universal targets of HIV prevention, treatment and care.

Economic empowerment: In his book, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, Richard Robbins states that women do two-thirds of the world’s work but receive 10 percent of the world’s income and own just own 1 percent of the means of production. Poverty prevents poor women from controlling when sexual intercourse takes place and if a condom is used, and often forces women into risky transactional sex to feed themselves and their families. According to a 2010 US Government study, empowerment activities such as micro-finance give women access to and control over vital economic resources, ultimately enhancing their ability not only to mitigate the impact of HIV, but also to be less vulnerable to HIV.

Involving men: More often than not, men control the dynamics of how, when and where sex happens. Encouraging more men to use condoms consistently has the knock-on effect of protecting their sexual partners from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Men are less likely than women to seek health services; in the case of men involved with multiple women, this means STIs remain untreated for long periods while their female partners are also at risk of infection. Teaching boys and young men to respect women, to be more involved in family activities and to avoid negative behaviour such as gender violence and alcohol abuse helps groom a generation of men who are less likely to take risks that endanger themselves and their families.

Online at: http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92135

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.
- Janis Joplin, American singer