WOZA women in the UK hold successful demo at Zimbabwe Embassy

By Tererai Karimakwenda
20 February 2006

Members and supporters of The Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) organised a demonstration this past Saturday at the Zimbabwe Embassy in London. The event was to show solidarity with their sisters who were arrested during Valentines Day marches in Bulawayo and Harare last week. All the women were eventually released, but they allege that the police were abusive and they subjected the women to inhuman conditions in the cells. The UK demo was attended by WOZA members and supporters who sang proudly and displayed placards with their “Bread and Roses” theme, which was meant to symbolise the desire for food and a dignified life for everyone.

The Reverend Martine Stemerick attended the demonstration and reported that people came from many parts of the UK, some from as far as Wales. Reverend Stemerick bumped into 2 young girls who had designed and produced a bracelet inscribed “Make Mugabe History”, which proved quite popular with the crowd. The girls had also participated in a church concert dedicated to Zimbabwe earlier in the day. The Reverend then asked the women to favour us with a song, and they broke into a rendition of “Madzimai anogona tungamirai”, meaning capable women lead the way, WOZA women lead the way.

A WOZA-UK official named Sine talked told us their aim was to bring attention to the extravagant costs of education, healthcare, and basic food items. She also pointed that the lack of freedom of speech and the abuses of individual rights by the Mugabe regime. Then in an emotional plea to the world, Sine urged the international community to save Zimbabweans from drowning.

We spoke to an English woman who has family in Zimbabwe and whose 15 year-old daughter monitors news from there on the internet. She said she was at the demo to support the WOZA women because she did not approve of the government’s actions in Zimbabwe. Reverend Stemerick told us organisers collected many signatures for their petition which seeks action against the oppressive regime in Zimbabwe and an end to the human rights violations.