Sheltered beneath cool thatch
surrounded by green lawns and fig trees

a circle of Zimbabwean women sit passing a stone
sewing beads onto a red velvet cloth as each one spoke

women’s work

they cross three generations
mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, grandmothers
facilitators, lawyers, counselors, activists

What is it, we asked, that we celebrate about being women?
‘Our ability to love,
to take responsibility for our children, our families
to take responsibility for the food, and the schooling
our ability to hold serious jobs
to talk about our feelings
to share the load’

And what is difficult about being  women here, at this time?

‘Being disrespected
often abused,
by the men with whom we live
sexual harassment
political rape and violence’

It was a story of attrition and overwhelming responsibility

One of the elders spoke
of the infidelities of her husband
of the pain it had cause her young soul
as she watched over her small children

and of the growing strength of realization
that she was the one

she would not seek what was impossible
she would take the responsibility
and do the work
and love her children
because she had the courage and strength to do it

of the power and satisfaction her life had brought her
of the wonderful children she had grown into the world
of the circles of women she shared her life with

They spoke of strong, enduring, loving mothers
of the father who had supported one young woman’s journey
allowed her the freedom to make her own choices
of her gratitude for this trust in her abilities

They spoke of the ‘enemy within’
their own jealousies
of women’s part in infidelities
the insecurity they carried

And then they looked at what they could change
and of holding circles with men

It is the first conversation of many, many conversations

everything changes

SW Radio Africa (London) reports that ‘Hundreds turned out for the Global Free Zimbabwe protests’. The protests were organised by MDC-T in an effort to pressure the South African government and SADC to ensure that ZANU PF is forced to honour the Global Political Agreement.

Zimbabwe vigil organiser, Rose Benton explained to SW Radio Africa that the London part of the protests was ‘a very big success’. The Zimbabwean community in London is estimated to number 100 000 and is largely concentrated in London. An estimated 300 gathered for the protest there.

It is estimated that millions of Zimbabweans reside outside the country’s borders. However, globally, less than 1000 people participated. Success, I suppose, is relative.

As one half of government and a party to the GPA itself, I wonder at the naiveté shown by the organisers of the protests. There is no denying that ZANU PF has stymied implementation of the GPA. But after having fought for democracy for so long, I would have hoped that MDC-T might have formulated a different strategy that best utilises the tools they have at hand. Contrary to what the MDC-T would have Zimbabweans in the Diaspora believe, it is not entirely powerless in government. Combined all the MDC factions hold a majority in both houses of Parliament. Given these circumstances it is surprising that key provisions to the GPA such as amendments to POSA and AIPPA are yet to be passed into law.

Like ZANU PF, MDC-T has consistently failed to deliver on its promises to the people of Zimbabwe. These protests are nothing more than a mass diversion to take away attention from the real issues and dissociate that party from the mess it too has made of this transitional period. Moreover, MDC-T has gotten into the disturbing habit of looking for a big brother in its fight with ZANU PF. The MDC-T persists in appealing to an international community that is largely fatigued of the Zimbabwean situation and is plagued by its own problems. By doing so, MDC-T plays directly into the hands of ZANU PF who accuse the party’s leadership of letting their decisions be made by foreign ambassadors. Acquiring power is a struggle in itself, the difficulties of which should never be underestimated. No amount of hand-wringing and petition signing is going to make it any easier. After years of South African mediation and questionable sanctions, none of which have been effective in wresting power from ZANU PF, MDC-T really should know better. And if that party cannot hold its own, it shouldn’t be in the ring.

Tell me; are any of your resolutions surviving January?

I decided to steer clear of the usual suspects this year – the diet, the exercise, the booze ban.  Instead I prayed for wisdom, maturity (mental, not physical obviously – you only want to be older when you are 12 and ¾’s), tolerance, restraint and grace – assuming that the diet, the exercise and the booze ban will follow as a matter of course (ha!).

These resolutions are a journey, rather than a destination (some have pointed out the potential ease of reneging and have questioned my motivation – or lack of – quite uncharitably I feel) but I do have one outstanding from last year that I hope to complete this year (and it is measurable).  It involves a reading list – the point being to read a number of books (over 100 on the list) which are selected (by a panel of academics) based on their impact on society at the time they were written (and none of them are new) or through history – whether due to literary style or content.  Some of them are painful, so painful that my Kindle remained untouched on my bedside table for weeks, and I have struggled all the way to the end of others, still not having discovered the reason they were chosen to be on The List in the first place.  Anyway, I shall persevere.

Daniel started “big school” this year.  My eyes brimmed as I took 101 photos of his first day, complete with too-long-shorts and large floppy hat.  He went off (tearful mother clutching large bog roll – you want to take a new one, not one that has dwindled to a few discreet nose-blows, and forget the dainty multi-coloured tissues – your nose will break right through and you’ll have finished the lot before you reach the car) cheerfully waving good-bye, after a hasty kiss and “I love you mom”.  I had so much to say. I was brimming with well-meaning advice on playground and bathroom etiquette. I was prepared for the “I don’t want to” battle complete with temper tantrum and tears.  And I was left, bereft and forlorn, looking after my departing child, my baby, his little satchel bouncing off his back as he ran into school.  I almost ran after him.

Tyla had her very first spelling test ever. And, after 2 afternoons of coaching and oral repetition in the car (Daniel being loudly shushed into silence), she got all her words right – I can feel my chest puffing out as I sit here.  She is enjoying Grade 2 less than she expected (things are so hard).  Still, I am always proud of her, although she may be daunted or nervous or scared, she always walks into a new situation with her chin up.

And so this year has been full of milestones already. We are well and truly launched into 2012, let’s try to remember our time here is finite – and make the best of it!

John Makumure writes in Newsday:

Many people must be wondering what has happened to the Public Order and Security Amendment (Posa) Bill that made history as the first private member Bill to be successfully introduced and passed by the House of Assembly.

The short answer is the Bill is stuck in the Senate after Zanu PF senators refused to pass it, arguing this was a matter negotiators to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) were seized with.

The Posa Amendment Bill seeks to make it easier for citizens to enjoy their civil liberties relating to the right to assemble, gather and demonstrate; curtail powers reposed in the police with respect to public gatherings; to clarify persons intending to demonstrate are required to notify the police and not to seek permission; and to ensure the police will be held to account in all cases where they use force to break public gatherings.

Read the rest of his article here

Malawi: After Attacks, President Says Women Have Right to Choose Clothing
A spate of recent attacks on women wearing pants and miniskirts prompted President Bingu wa Mutharika to declare Thursday that women had the right to choose their dress. He also denied that he had ordered street children and vendors to attack women, who have been stripped of their pants and short skirts. “Every woman and girl has the right to dress the way they wish,” he said on national television. Women were banned from wearing pants during decades of dictatorship, but indecency laws prohibiting them were repealed in 1994.
Source: New York Times

The threat of the downing of tools by Zimbabwe’s civil servants has reached fever peak with the workers representatives embarking on a campaigning streak to mobilize support for the strike. The workers are demanding minimum of US$538 per month for the least paid employee, which they reflects the poverty datum line. The impact of the first one-day nationwide strike yesterday was mainly felt in the education sector and in high-density schools were teachers failed to turn up for work leading to an assumption that the workers are not pulling in the same direction as some government workers reported for duty.

The year 2011 was a year of un-coordinated job action by various government departments demanding better salaries. Depending on how important the department was to the inclusive government at that time some government workers embarked on a strike and forced the government into submission.  An investigation of how the government has awarded increments and allowances to some of its employees leaves one wondering if some government employees are more special than others.

The most recent and more controversial was the paying out of allowances to Members of Parliament in December 2011 just after the Minister of Finance had indicated in his monetary statement that the government had no money for civil servants pay increments. The legislators had threatened not pass the budget in Parliament unless they were paid their sitting allowances, which the government owed them back to 2008. The same legislators went on to demand top of the range luxury vehicles whilst some teachers in the harsh rural areas like Nyamapanda are struggling without the hardship allowances just to motivate them to work. In July 2011 a paltry salary increment by the government was met with mixed reactions from the employees as they complain that it was far below the poverty datum line, which stood at US$502 at that time.

In April 2011 magistrates stopped work at Zimbabwe’s courts nationwide in protest over poor remuneration and they were immediately awarded the increment.  Not to be outdone fellow court workers, the prosecutors, downed tools in protest over salary discrepancies between them and magistrates.

Funds from diamond sales and the special treatment of certain civil servants whilst neglecting others has fueled plans for a nationwide strike by the civil servants. If the legislators can manage to pay each other a whopping US$15 000 some may argue that maybe the Minister of Finance has a secret pool where he can access funds in times of crisis.