Across Zimbabwe, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), is known for its courage and determination. It is one of the few organisations which is regularly in the streets, protesting against government policies and demanding that its concerns be heard.

Since 2003, WOZA has been conducting non-violent actions across the country as women (and more recently men) join together to fight for their rights. They have held sit-ins at Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) offices to demand power to the people. To raise funds and protest the NGO Bill in 2004, they walked 440 kilometres from Bulawayo to Harare, facing blisters, hunger, dehydration and arrest along the way. They have held demonstrations in Bulawayo, Harare, Mutare, Masvingo, Lupane, Gweru, Filabusi and more. Their Valentine’s Day actions, to show that the power of love can overcome the love of power, have become annual events across the country.

Their bravery inspires Zimbabweans. But a recent report highlights the price WOZA women pay for defending their freedoms, and those of the nation. The report takes a random sample of just 15% of the 2,200 WOZA members interviewed earlier this year about their activities and human rights violations they have experienced. The survey data from the larger sample is still being processed, but the preliminary report provides a powerful reminder that freedom certainly comes at a price.

WOZA member are at risk not only during their demonstrations, but are also victimised by the police for their participation and are isolated for later mistreatment. According to the document:

As this report was being finalised six women and a one and a half year old child were abducted by Law and Order police officers from their homes in Bulawayo during the early hours of the morning. They were taken to a mountain overlooking a river and told to tell the ‘truth’ about the whereabouts of their leaders (Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu). They were shown ropes and rocks and told they would be thrown into Khami Dam if they did not divulge information required by police officers. It was only the casual appearance of tourists, presumed to be journalists, which alarmed the officers who decided to return them to their homes, threatening that if they exposed their ordeal they would be killed.

Another recent incident was the arrest of 19 members, both male and female, from a sports stadium in Masvingo where they were playing netball and soccer. They spent 48 hours in custody and then had to ‘buy’ their freedom by paying admission of guilt fines. Another two members who went to the police station to bring them food were arrested and spent 48 hours in custody before having to also ‘buy’ their freedom.

The survey reports that 73% of WOZA members have been arrested at least once. Some members have been arrested over 25 times. Over half have been detained longer that Zimbabwe’s statutory limit of 48 hours without being brought to court. 40% of the sample have suffered physical assault, most generally at the hands of the police who arrested them, and 26% needed medical treatment for their injuries.

Despite this mistreatment WOZA marches on. Their humour, action, song, fliers, banners and creativity feed a spring of hope that may one day flood the nation.

This entry was posted on October 12th, 2007 at 10:50 am by Amanda Atwood and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.