Zimbabwe
marks 39years of independence from colonisation today. The independence was won
by a war of liberation in which women and men, young and old took up arms and fought
against the oppressive British colonisers. Reflecting on the narratives of the
women who went to war as written by Lyons in Guns and Guerrilla Girls, Zimbabwean
women were motivated to fight against colonisation because they believed that
national independence will bring with it the emancipation of women in totality.
Even the male nationalist fighters promised that the end of colonisation would
be the end for patriarchal oppression and the coming of dawn for gender
equality. But sadly, 39years on, women in Zimbabwe continue to live in fear as gender-based
violence continue to rear its ugly head. Gender based violence is more
widespread among women at the lowest strata of the social hierarchy, but it
still remains a reality among women of all classes. No woman is safe from gender-based
violence. This is why the total eradication of gender based violence must be a
priority to the nation. And as we mark 39years of independence, it is important
to reflect how far the nation is scoring in guaranteeing the independence,
freedom and safety of women and girls. This was part of the agenda during the
liberation struggle, and so should it remain part of the national agenda in the
post-independent Zimbabwe. It is every Zimbabwean’s responsibility to play
their part, no one should be above the law, there are no sacred cows when it
comes to the freedom and protection of women and girls. And today, the nation
should speak loudly and in one voice, in holding leaders who violate oath of
their office accountable. Let’s remind
Vice President (VP) Kembo Mohadi to give us our overdue national apology on his
deplorable violent actions against his ex-wife Tambudzai Mohadi on 31 March.
On
31 March 2019, VP Mohadi is alleged to have poked
his ex-wife with an iron bar, threatened to shoot her and attacked her house
with an axe. All this happened in the full view of 25police officers who
watched helplessly. The actions by the Vice President, and the police’s
reaction during the altercation tells many stories in one, albeit all concluding
that 39years after independence, women are not safe in Zimbabwe. For this day,
the one story to think about is the reality that the violent actions by VP Mohadu
to Senator TambudzaI Mohadi are a tip of an iceberg to a wider problem of how violence
is normalised within the realms of power and law enforcement. On this fateful
day, statements by the Zimbabwe Mail indicate that VP Mohadi claimed to be
higher than the law itself. For the police, after witnessing the incident, and
counting the number of weapons the VP wielded and was determined to use, still no report of
investigations have been made.
The
abuse of the law and use of law enforcement agents in committing acts of
violence against an unarmed woman by those who are supposed to be protecting victims
and survivors is deplorable. Such acts erase gains made in the post independent
Zimbabwe of criminalising violence against women. Surely decades of effort by
women’s rights groups cannot be put into jeopardy by unrestraint acts by the VP.
That send very wrong signals to would be offenders of gender based violence. VP
Kembo Mohadi must apologise to the women and citizens of Zimbabwe for his acts
that undermine the oath of his office and the laws of the country.
Zimbabwe
has over the years made significant progress in passing laws and ratifying
regional and international instruments aimed at criminalising and mitigating
different sorts of discriminatory and degrading practices to women. In 2007,
the country passed into law, the Domestic Violence Act. It has also ratified the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women, and the
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). The Executive arm of government is one of the institutions that have a
responsibility to play an oversight role on the implementation of national law
and policy. The acts of the Vice President are contrary to expectations of his
office hence the need for him to set the record straight by publicly
apologising to the nation.
Gender
based violence remains a major area of concern for the country. Reported
incidences of gender based violence continue to soar. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that in Zimbabwe one in every 3 women
have experienced physical violence and that in many instances for once married
women the violence is perpetrated by their spouse or former ‘husbands’. The
increases are recorded despite the increased awareness and calls to end
violence against women and promote women’s rights to security of persons among
other freedoms. The UN Resident Coordinator for Zimbabwe in 2017 raised concerns that while it remains
contested that increases in cases of
gender based violence could be attributed to increased awareness and therefore
reporting violations, those rates are still alarming as even one single case is
unjustifiable.
Gender
based violence or specifically violence against women is attributable to
patriarchal attitudes that undermine the personhood of women. The occurrence of
the violence at the highest level of authority, and without condemnation from
the state organs is problematic. Women fought the war to guarantee the nation
freedom and safety. Unless that is attained, the goals of the liberation
struggle are betrayed.
Glanis Changachirere
Glanis Changachirere
