Women activists pave the way for increased representation in governments

So who says the participation of women in politics, governance and decision-making can only be marked by their representation in parliament? If the actions of the women of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are anything to go by, women are at the forefront of the activism in Zimbabwe. As they lobby government on behalf of the entire nation we need to ask: Where is everyone else? Where are the men, the human rights groups and even the students who in any society are traditionally the leaders in activism?

 

Some argue that it is easier for women’s activism to be public that police are more lenient with women activists who are at less risk than their male counterparts when they take to the streets.  Yet since their formation in 2003, their stand against the repressive Public Order and Security Act has seen them harassed, detained, and embroiled in endless trials.

 

“All we are saying to government is: ‘Enough is enough! Sokwanele! Zvakwana!’ All we want is to be heard the out. In our society women are hardly given the chance to express themselves and this is the way we know best to express how these awful conditions we live in affect us as women and mothers,” says Jenny Williams, one of the WOZA leaders.

 

Their biggest protest was held on September 19, 2004 when women walked 440km from Bulawayo to Harare to raise funds, and protest against repressive legislation. At that time the Zimbabwe government had proposed the Non-Governmental Organisation Bill which sought to control the operations of all NGO’s by a commission elected by the relevant minister. If passed, the bill would strike at their very existence and the survival of their families.

 

“Most of the members of WOZA are widows, informal traders; some are ‘living positively’ with the virus. We try to survive independently but without help from NGOs our families and those of us who are ill shall surely fade away and die,” they were quoted as saying. So they marched to parliament on arrival in Harare … and, contrary to the arguments that women are less at risk, were subsequently arrested!

 

The evening of March 31, 2005, the day parliamentary results were announced saw approximately 260 women arrested at the peaceful prayer vigil at which they bemoaned the ‘stolen result’ in the capital city, Harare. Prior to the vigil they had popularized the message: ‘The power of love can overcome the love of power’. They were arrested nevertheless.

 

On June 18, shortly after the launch of Operation Restore Order WOZA again took to the streets in peaceful demonstration and protest – an action that led to the arrest of 29 women. As the world looked on, police demolished squatter homes and ‘llegal’ structures, rounding up street vendors, and leaving thousands homeless with no source of income.

 

The women of WOZA have constantly reaffirmed their commitment to civil disobedience and peaceful activism, emphasising that it is their right to speak out and assemble and that this right cannot be criminalised. Their continuous arrests show otherwise.

 

As in any other conflict situation, it is Zimbabwe’s women and children who have borne the brunt of the country’s turmoil. At this critical moment it is the women who have organised and propelled their voices in an attempt to the government answerable to its people.  It is the ordinary women – housewives, vendors, grandmothers and widows suffering under the current socio-economic and political crisis who brave the threat of arrest, carry pots and pans, sing, dance, pray and picket at demonstrations, sponsored walks and sometimes even at parliament. They are the women of Zimbabwe.

 

Southern Africa is slowly moving away from an era where the cultural norms and values dictated that women should stand back and wait for decisions to be made from them. The social and political activism that WOZA is engaging in and initiating is paving the path for women’s greater levels of participation in formal structures of governance. But it is not only about greater numbers; it is also about women’s effective participation.

 

Zimbabwe hasn’t even got the numbers right. The results of the parliamentary elections led to 20 out of 58 women parliamentarians from the 120 elected seats, two appointed women governors and two women non-constituency members of parliament.

 

Zimbabwe has women leaders, many of whom would make significant contributions to the country if elected into formal politics. Women in civil society activist groupings are well placed to make the shift into formal structures of government as they develop their political stamina through the organising they are engaged in. It is only a matter of time.