16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is a global event dedicated to end gender-based violence. As part of the commemorations to mark this event in Zimbabwe on Friday 30 November 2012 Pamberi Trust together with Media Alliance held a media round table discussion at The Book Café. The theme of the discussion was “The Media Against Gender-Based Violence” and it took the form of an open discussion between members of the public, media practitioners and civil society representatives in trying to unpack the role of the media in covering gender based violence (GBV) in the country.

It was noted that media is doing very little in playing its role as a mirror of society when reporting on gender-based violence. In a presentation by Mrs. Veremu a Mass Communications lecturer at Polytechnic, it was noted that media plays a critical role in shaping the discourse on gender based violence through awareness raising, setting the agenda and helping to change attitudes. Mrs. Veremu highlighted that media should play a leading role in dispelling the stigma centered around gender-based violence so that it becomes an encompassing human rights issue, including both men and boys.

In a study carried out by Gender Links in 2010 it was found that regardless of the high prevalence of gender based violence in Zimbabwe only 3 percent of the stories in the media was on gender based violence. The same study found out that television coverage of gender violence was only 1 percent. Media was blamed for sensationalizing articles on gender-based violence only to push sales foregoing the seriousness the issue deserves.

Media should not relegate gender-based violence to the periphery of social discourse.

In helping set the agenda, media has a responsibly in influencing the discourse concerning gender based violence and media coverage should happen all year round, not just during the 16 Days Campaign.

Media houses and organizations that work on gender issues were urged not only to rely on old media but also to embrace new technology like social media so that they reach out to a wide audience.

From the diary of Chris Magadza:

Chris Magadza, Zimbabwean poet and academic, shares his experiences during a research road trip with a group of students.

Saturday
Leaving for Hwange with my Master’s class of four; an eight-hundred-kilometre drive. As the vehicle is not an off-road 4×4, I have to take the Bulawayo route, otherwise we could cut the trip by going via Binga, reducing the journey by some 300 km. Arrived 4:30 p.m., averaging 110 km per hour, including fuelling and toilet stops. Caught doing 135 km per hour!  Traffic officer demurred to my age and advised safe driving. Sometimes it pays not to shave.

Sunday
Went on the Dopi Loop in the morning recording animals, temperature, humidity and coordinates; Nyamandhlovu viewing platform in the afternoon. First time students had seen any wild animals. A noticeable number of newly born and yearlings, elephant babies among the herds. Many pictures with my new GE camera; can take good pictures at more than 200m.

Monday
Student Z had generously urinated all over the toilet seat and on the floor. When I shouted at him, he just smiled. Went the Central road transect towards Robin Camp for 48km counting animals; more elephants seen than any other mammalian species; evidence of elephant damage on vegetation quite visible? One horned kudu at Guvalala Pumped Waterhole and magnificent sable bull. Visited Painted Dog Project Centre. Greg almost as short as me now after his air-crash operation! Had to wait an hour before evening shower since Student Z had emptied all the hot water to have a full bath.

Tuesday
The three male students slept until 11 a.m., in spite of an assignment given the evening before. So much for supposedly post-graduate ecology students; definitely the worst class I’ve had in my teaching career. No wonder everyone refers to University of Zimbabwe students now as ‘vana vechikoro’ . . .  schoolchildren.

Wednesday
Male students kicked out of bed by cleaning lady at 10:30 a.m. Left for Harare at 11:30 a.m. Home 8:30 p.m. Young police officer asks for my driving license at the Gwayi roadblock. ‘Do you think at my age (almost 73) I would be driving a university vehicle without a driver’s licence?’ He then demanded to see it. He walked round the vehicle and then ordered me to park off road and walked off with my licence. After a minute, I went to ask why he was detaining us. He signalled me to a young lady officer who was already writing something down.
“What are you writing?” I asked.
“A ticket” she said menacingly.
“What for?” I asked.
“Your left-side rear-view mirror is missing.”
“What does the law say about rear-view mirrors?”
“But you have a missing mirror.”
“How many mirrors must I have?”
“That is the law”
“The law says I must have a rear-view mirror. If you would like to check, there is a rear-view mirror mounted in the car.”
“But you must have all the mirrors the car was made with.”
“I drive a car Reg. AAM 9735 that was made with no left-hand side rear-view mirror. Is that an offence?”
“Just go, but someone will arrest you.”

Driving against opposing night traffic when most drivers don’t dim their headlights is quite nerve-wracking. It’s fine not being able to dim your headlights, or having no signals, or lights for that matter!

Thursday
Dorothy rang: Borrowdale vleis fight; the greed and corruption of Zimbabwean politicians makes one feel you are perpetually swimming in urine; all for double storey, multi-multi-bedroomed mansions, as well as the biggest Mercedes in the world – possessions that in no way contribute to the economy of the land. Have to give talk at Harare Rotary but can’t remember venue.

Friday
Eventful start; nearly run over by own car, knocked down by door trying to stop it rolling back; stopped by smashing Irene’s potted plant, fortunately large enough to stop the car. Have to write to Vice Chancellor explaining why the Red Bishop and Masked Weaver need reeds to breed; he has been ordering the them cut down as well as a host of trees, some planted more than 50 years ago by founding professor of Botany Arthur Boughey, according the Bentham-Hooker systematics scheme. Also, must prepare annual report for WEZ for Saturday AGM.

Source: Poetry International

Buy one get one for free! 40 per cent discount on all purchases! Get a free product for every purchase! This is how retailers lure customers especially towards the festive season. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is offering such unbelievable promotions to advertisers that you’d think they’ve turned into a shop ready for Christmas. They are giving massive 40% discounts and free radio slots for every TV slot purchased. This is more to do with the pressure of the competition from the launch of two new radio stations in Zimbabwe than anything else. And to try and keep existing customers and lure new ones, ZBC plays its promotional adverts more than it plays adverts by advertisers! Imagine the heat the ZBC would experience if real life independent public media got licensed in Zimbabwe.

An eight-track poetry album entitled All Protocols Observed was unpacked yesterday by Zimbabwe Poetry for Human Rights at a Food for Thought session hosted by US Embassy Public Affairs section.

Though you can dance to it the tracks on the album address some of the serious challenges affecting our country. From the accumulating dirty debt, to ravaging HIV/AIDS as well as politicians abusing their mandate to represent the people. The messages on the album are straight to the point as no one can dispute the fact that every problem in the country so far has been addressed with an “Operation” or a “Commission” of some sort as highlighted in track 5 of the album “Ma Opareshoni nema Komishoni”. Since Independence a lot commissions and operations have been set up to respond to something or other. From Operation Murambatsvina that demolished people’s houses because they were deemed illegal structures to Operation Zuva Rabuda/Sunrise, which resulted in the slashing of many zeroes on our local currency.

The album can be accessed from Zimbabwe Poetry for Human Rights free of charge and the group is encouraging people to share it so that it reaches a wide audience. Poetry is a powerful tool to provoke thought.

Many artists have been silenced in Zimbabwe for speaking out too loudly about the injustices faced by ordinary people. The work of Zimbabwe Poetry for Human Rights has not been easy as their recent performance in Kadoma was met with resistance when youths from ZANU-PF shut down the event and accused the group of spreading regime change messages.

Toindepi – Where are we headed? is a short sixteen minutes documentary directed by Tenford Chitanana. The film won the Documentary Short Film Award at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival held in California, USA. The documentary focuses on the day to day hardships faced by young people in Zimbabwe after Operation Murambatsvina left them homeless and jobless. The film is a reflection of the shattered dreams of many young people in Zimbabwe who are struggling to make their presence felt in a society where decision-making is done by the elite and powerful. Operation Murambatsvina took place in 2005 leaving many young people wallowing in poverty as their sources of income were destroyed resulting in many resorting to crime and prostitution for survival.