1000 WOZA members mark 16 days of activism against gender violence

By Tererai Karimakwenda
27 November, 2007

In a surprise move that caught the police unaware, about 1,000 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marched through the central district of Bulawayo on Tuesday to mark the beginning of ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.’ This is a global event commemorating the rights of women. The world theme for 2007 is “Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women.”
WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams said there were no police officers at the Bulawayo High Court, which was their starting point, and due to the element of surprise they completed their route to the Government Complex at Mhlahlandlela before a senior police official approached.

The Officer Commanding Bulawayo Central Station ordered the group to disperse saying the official government launch is on Wednesday and they should come back then. But he did not give any details as to where this official launch was due to take place.

Williams said: “We would want to know what exactly is going to be discussed at the official launch when we didn’t know about it beforehand and whether we will be allowed to address people and speak the truth about this violence in different forms, including the violence of refusing to allow people to buy food. The price controls is another form of violence. We would want to speak about all those issues.”

Jenni said despite the fact that the Zimbabwe government has passed a Domestic Violence Bill, it becomes meaningless when it does not translate into action. She added: “Our members are continually harassed. They continue to visit me at my home. They continue to follow me around town. These things end up meaningless if they are not going to give activists like myself space to work on the ground.”

The occasion coincided with the anniversary of the group’s launch of the People’s Charter on 29th November last year. On that day riot police brutally assaulted hundreds of WOZA at Mhlahlandlela. One of the founders of WOZA, the late Maria Moyo, was a leaders of this protest last year. Sadly she passed away recently due to ill health, exacerbated by the trauma of being abducted and tortured by police.