I have grown tired of hearing about these female rapists, and all the terrible things they have done to their poor victims. While it is sad that these men were violated and degraded in such a manner, I am struggling to understand why their rape seems to have taken precedence over all other rape cases. Countless male rapists are getting away with violating minors but we can rest assured that all these female rapists will be caught, and brought to justice.

For one thing, there has been more than adequate, (or necessary), media coverage of the atrocities, and it seems the police’s hard work on the case has paid off, as 3 of the offenders have now been apprehended, charged with 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault and released on $300 bail each. It is my hope that in the future that the police will be as swift with men who rape children because some of these monsters are getting away scot-free!

Several newspaper articles have described the large crowds that gathered outside the Gweru Police Station, wanting to beat the female rapists held there. Why is the same sense of outrage not shown when we hear of men raping minors and other vulnerable members of society? I read with outrage about a Masvingo man who allegedly raped his 18-year-old daughter at least 12 times, and was last month released on $100 bail. A $100 bail, for a man who lives with his victim? Are they crazy? Why, also, was this story only reported on once? If stories like this received even half the publicity that the female rapists have received, maybe the “playing field” would be a little more even. I was also surprised when the names and photos of the 3 female rapists were released. When was the last time we ever saw any one of the monsters that desecrate the bodies of minors photographed? Rape is rape, let’s treat all offenders the same! If we are now going to start photographing these despicable people, let’s take photos of them all!

Perhaps the manner in which this case has been handled and reported on can be a template for all incidences of this form of violence, especially against children.

Just Associates Southern Africa: Programme Manager
Deadline: 25 November 2011

JASS (Just Associates) is an international community of activists, scholars, and popular educators that works to strengthen and leverage the voice, visibility, and collective organising power of women to create a just world.

JASS Southern Africa seeks to appoint a Programme Manager, based in Cape Town. There is, however, an option for candidates to be based in Zimbabwe, Malawi or Zambia where the bulk of its work is located.

This is a great opportunity for an African professional who is deeply committed to strengthening grassroots activist leadership and organising and who brings passion, demonstrated leadership, interpersonal and organisational skills. S/he will offer relevant strategic and programmatic experience as well as some experience with participatory training and grassroots organising.

In Southern Africa (SNA), JASS’ strategy is to strengthen and mobilise women’s activist leadership to retool and rebuild women’s movements to address practical needs and change norms, institutions and policies that perpetuate inequality and violence. The programme involves training, organising, social media, documentation and strategic action in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Now in its fourth year, the programme is driven by a regional team and a unique regional alliance of LGBT activists, progressive religious leaders living with HIV/AIDS, youth organisers and ICT feminist activists to maximise their reach and impact on women’s rights and lives.

While decision-making relating to the overall JASS SNA strategy, planning and organisational development lies with the Regional Coordinator, the Programme Manager will work closely with the Regional Coordinator and part-time organisers and consultants to facilitate country processes and communications, ensuring that relationships, programmes and the regional partnerships are on track and in line with JASS SNA’s mission and strategy.

Responsibilities:
Provide leadership, mentoring and support to the broader JASS SNA community of women activists across the region virtually and in person;
Coordinate and backstop country-level processes in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, including overseeing the planning, design, facilitation and documentation of activities and events;
Establish/coordinate consultative processes for designing, planning and implementing JASS SNA strategies and programmes in line with JASS’ overall mission and strategic priorities;
Refine and adjust plans as needed in accordance with opportunities and funding;
Develop/consolidate regional systems for documentation, reporting and monitoring in close coordination with the regional team and global JASS;
Maintain regular communication with the regional team and partnership to ensure programmes, relationships and deliverables are on track including regular check-ins with regional staff and partners to ensure continued ownership;
Identify and pursue strategic opportunities to deepen and broaden the impact of the JASS SNA movement-building process;
At times, represent JASS SNA and involve other regional team members and JASS SNA community in representing JASS in the region at important events and among a wide variety of people and organisations who are potential allies and donors.

Requirements:
Minimum of 8-10 years of demonstrated experience with managing programmes and people and administering projects related political activism and/or advocacy on women’s rights, HIV/AIDS young women leadership, social movements and related issues;
Minimum of 8-10 years of demonstrated programme management experience related to political activism, women’s rights and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa;
Experience writing about women’s organisation and social justice issues strongly preferred;
Knowledge on policy issues related to the core themes;
Commitment to facilitative leadership and democratic management principles;
Experience in promoting teamwork and working collaboratively in a multigenerational, multicultural context;
Ability to think critically and politically, and problem-solve with minimal resources;
Ability to operate in a virtual, global organisation where e-mail and phone communication is paramount;
Written and oral communication skills;
Ability to write for a variety of audiences and purposes;
Experience working effectively with limited budgets and a corresponding ability to draft and implement budgets for regional projects and initiatives;
Ability to think through staffing needs and priorities;
Comfortable building and developing organisational processes for a young organisation with a unique and flexible structure that is continually evolving in careful and well thought-out strategic stages;
Excitement about, and commitment to, bringing diverse interests together across boundaries of race, class, gender, sexuality and nationality in collaborative and creative ways;
Sensitivity/awareness of difference, power and privilege as they shape interaction and of multigenerational processes;
Comfortable dealing with and navigating the complex politics between traditional NGOs and women’s rights groups;
Ability to plan on the move and to respond and adjust to shifting constantly priorities;
Experience organising and facilitating events.

To apply, submit a CV and motivation letter to Maggie Mapondera at maggie [at] justassociates [dot] org or fax to: +1 202 232 4715.
NGO Pulse Portal.

No phone calls will be accepted.

JASS is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants with diverse backgrounds and members of the queer/transgender community are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more about the Just Associates, refer to www.justassociates.org

Sour: NGO Pulse Portal

With only two days to go until the beginning of the 16 days of Activism Against Violence Against Women, the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section played host to a presentation on the campaign, led by young Zimbabwean women’s rights activist, Cleopatra Ndlovu. She defined gender-based violence (GBV) as an umbrella term encompassing “any harm that is perpetrated against a person’s will, because of their sex – this violence has a negative impact on the physical, the psychological health, the development and the identity of the person”.

The theme for this year’s campaign is: From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women! Ndlovu said that the focus on militarism last year and this year, is due to the rise in conflicts and political unrest all over the world. In Zimbabwe, election-time has become synonymous with violence (especially rape), and many of our women shudder to think what will happen to them before and during next year’s polls.

“We live in a country that is not concerned about the issues of GBV,” said Ndlovu as she highlighted the lack of progress or significant change in the situation of women, despite the many protocols, treaties and declarations signed by the nations with regards to discrimination against women and the increase of increase of women in decision-making positions – Zimbabwe has failed to reach the 30% by 2005 goal, as female representation in Parliament to date, falls short of this target.

But the situation is not completely dismal, according to Ndlovu, as women have made huge strides already:

- Establishment of Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development
- National Gender Policy
- Domestic Violence Act
- Victim friendly units

Despite this progress Ndlovu says women still have a long way to go. Another problem she highlighted was the fact that the people who are at the forefront of the fight against GBV are mainly women, through the many organisations who are a part of the women’s movement. The involvement and participation can make it much less of a struggle.

In conclusion, Ndlovu said that the media also had huge role to play in accurately informing the nation on the plight of women in reporting on gender-based violence.

The first-prize winner of this year’s International Day to End Impunity poster contest, Jamie Javier from the Philippines.

In an analysis titled Debating Zimbabwean-ness in Diasporic Internet forums, researchers Wendy Williams and Winston Mano explore the way in which national identity and citizenship were debated in an online discussion forum on the tabloid news site NewZimbabwe. The analysis focuses on an online discussion of Makosi Musambasi, who participated in Big Brother UK 2005, providing an interesting insight into how we as Zimbabweans construct our collective identity.

Like many Zimbabweans of my generation and more in the succeeding ones, all I wanted to do after high school was leave the country. Yet it was when I left and had experienced otherness in another country I wanted nothing more than to come back.  There is nothing that makes you feel more Zimbabwean than leaving Zimbabwe. In my time away, I spent hours on the Internet looking for anything and everything I could find that might possibly bring home to me. Including other Zimbabweans and time and time again I was disappointed. The group that was supposed to create a soft landing for fellow émigrés was mired in infighting and political struggles. Other Zimbabweans would get in touch only when they needed something.  I remember one African Union like gathering that was so overwhelmed by Nigerians that there was nowhere for them to sit. And even though there were several thousand Zimbabweans living in that city, our table for ten could hardly find three people. This is not to imply that that we are an exception among nationalities, but it is peculiar that even Zimbabweans themselves have observed that we are the least united of all the nationalities. There is not a single person living in or who has returned from the Diaspora who cannot recount at least one story of Zimbabweans being taken advantage of, excluded and sometimes even oppressed by fellow countrymen. An example is the news story of the man who was accused of selling the names of undocumented Zimbabweans to the Home Office in the UK.

The report observes that the Internet has provided a means for Zimbabweans both in and out of the country to set up a vibrant media culture, therefore a space for a more robust and inclusive debate regarding Zimbabwean-ness. It also notes that ‘[t]he discussion has shown how diasporic Zimbabwean media culture incorporated and subverted mainstream representations on the British media. The intensity and scope of the debates around the participation of a Zimbabwean nurse, Makosi Musambasi…are a good example of the mobilising aspect of national identity on the Internet.’

Disappointingly, those posting comments on the forum reject Makosi’s authenticity as a Zimbabwean because her parents were not born in the country.  Reflecting on this, Williams and Mano write:

Although Makosi had lived her whole life in Zimbabwe, forum participants excluded her from the nation in similar ways as the Zimbabwean Government sought to disenfranchise Zimbabweans of Malawian, Zambian and Mozambican descent from their citizenship. In this way highly exclusionary notions of the nation were thus reproduced on the New Zimbabwe forum.

I can see why the state chooses to broadcast propaganda, it works. And ironically it has worked on the very people who by virtue of their location outside Zimbabwe are economically if not politically opposed to the party’s authoritarian grip on everything Zimbabwean, including identity. But regardless of where they live, their political affiliation and even skin colour, for many people being Zimbabwean is no longer defined in terms of what country you were born and grew up in or common experiences. As Zimbabweans we define our Zimbabwean-ness in terms of what it is not, rather than in terms of what it is. We are just as guilty as ZANU-PF of perpetuating a nationalistic misconstruction of our common identity. Individually, we divide and create an ‘other’ based on what is perceived as mis-culture or acculturaltion. This becomes personally unacceptable, and instead of uniting and embracing the diversity within our culture we reject each other for petty small-minded reasons. It’s no wonder then that there are people in Matebeleland who believe in creating a separate Ndebele state, or that Zimbabweans of European descent are first white then Zimbabwean. In fact depending on where and how we grew up, we are all Zimbabwean second.

I am disappointed by Zimbabweans. Even as we create conversations and actions about rebuilding Zimbabwe, the same breath is used to exclude other equally capable Zimbabweans, be they ZANU-PF or MDC-x members, Diasporans, white farmers, or Angolan/Malawian/Mozambican/Zambian-Zimbabweans. Surely this is a process that will require every Zimbabwean, regardless of location, language preference, political affiliation and most especially ethnic origin.