I am coming from a workshop called 10 Tactics For Turning Information Into Action. There is so much that people know out there but what good is knowledge without you using it? These Ten Tactics help to make sure what you have you use and you use it well. The second tactic is the one that really got me going. Witness and record. This is where the workshop happened for me I tell you.  I suddenly saw myself recording a corrupt police officer taking bribes from vehicle drivers under the disguise of a police roadblock. I could see him taking the money completely oblivious of me recording him with my phone. I could see myself going to an honest police officer and showing him my findings. As I give him that recording there is no fear in me. I am not even afraid of the system because in my dreams it is fair and just. I see him call all the relevant people trying to find out how he can arrest this corrupt policeman who has brought shame to his field of work. I even hear him thank me for being a brave and true citizen because for a moment there in my dream I was actually standing up for what I think is true and right and I have no fear. I see thousands of other Zimbabweans taking my lead and exposing all the corrupt people they brush shoulders with on a daily basis. Yes I did not fear a thing because in my dreams it is every Zimbabwean’s right to stop corruption. I even saw myself standing in the witness box and pointing him out to the judge and saying, yes, this is the man who has helped corruption blossom to a well-rooted tree. Then I came to down to earth, to Zimbabwe in particular, were the fear of the unknown grabs and consumes every day of my life. I came back and realized that where I live is anything but fair and just. Even if I had the guts to record such happenings how far would they go if a million other people live in the same fear as I do.

I recently attended a Gender symposium organised by the Gender Forum as part of the their programme for 16-365 Days of activism against gender Based Violence. Various presenters and discussants were invited to share academic papers concerning gender-based violence in Zimbabwe.

The presentation by Ms. Edith Maziofa got me thinking. She began by pointing out the alarming number of headlines that report sexual assault, murder and violence against women, girls and most distressingly infants.

I remember vividly reading about the case of the man who raped his friend’s four-year-old daughter in a collapsed grave. The man was found by his friend’s wife, who reported the matter to the police. At the time of reporting the man had escaped apprehension and was on the run. Discussing the article with some friends, we concluded that it had to have been some sort of ritual, burial sites being sacred in our culture. But what disturbed me the most was that the four year olds father was not to be found anywhere in the story. He was not reported to be outraged, or disowning his friend. It was the mother who reported the rape to the police, the mother who stood outraged at the gravesite with a crowd, the mother who was going to court to seek justice for her child. But where was her husband?

In her presentation, Ms Maziofa noted that the high incidence of these articles, spoke to an even higher prevalence of abuse against women and children.

She discussed the decline of the women’s movement, which reached its peak in the 1990s when it influenced the drafting of a new constitution, the drafting of a national gender policy, and the promulgation of the Domestic violence act.

Despite the remarkable laws protecting women and children, the high media reportage of GBV shows that gender inequality is still deeply entrenched in Zimbabwe. Ms Maziofa queried how well these laws actually worked in protecting vulnerable women and children.

She went further to point out that the gender imbalances in our society impact negatively on income distribution, and noted that despite the widely publicised women’s empowerment movement, economic control and ownership is still male dominated.

Politically this imbalance has serious ramifications. Take for example the unquestioning endorsement by the ZANU PF Women’s League of Robert Mugabe. I have yet to be made aware of any debate regarding the suitability of Amai Mujuru for Chairperson of ZANU PF or indeed, any woman for any government or party position that is responsible for making any real political or national decisions. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, and in particular from this quarter, women are still underrepresented in politics, yet they have the loudest voices when it come to endorsing decisions already made by men.

Are women in politics not capable of making decisions on their own?

The Gender Forum organised a GBV/HIV & AIDS Fair at the National Gallery as part of their programming for the 16-365 days of activism against gender based violence.

It was happy to stumble upon two very interesting social enterprises.

Integrated Sustainable Livelihoods (ISL) is a trust that works towards the empowerment of women, and tries to address issues that are specific to women. One of their projects addresses the issues surrounding feminine hygiene. Despite this being the information age, and with great advances in medicine, menstruation is still shrouded in mystery and myth, even among women. Societal attitudes towards menstruation have coloured women’s perceptions of their own cycles, and their bodies. Menstruation is seen as something that is shameful and dirty. Given these perceptions, it is not surprising that buying sanitary ware is very low on any list of household priorities, particularly for vulnerable and poor people. Integrated Sustainable Livelihoods conducted a study and found that:

Lack of resources forces young girls to use pieces of cloths, newspapers, cow dung and tissues to try and contain the flowing of blood. During this period they not only experience the characteristic abdominal pains and mood alterations, but also have to be absent from school for fear of odours emanating from newspapers and rags they use to contain their menstrual flow.

More than just pointing out what the problem is, ISL is working in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund for Women  (UNIFEM) and the Ministry Of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development to improve the reproductive health of marginalized women through provision of a safe alternative to disposable sanitary ware.

The reusable pads are made from cotton fabric and come in various colours. ISL teaches women and women’s groups to not only make these for personal use, but for sale as well; they are also working with several NGOs to supply women in prison with this essential product.

Another trust working to create sustainable livelihoods for women is the Zimbabwe Women Rural Development Trust based in Chivhu. They work to teach rural women skills in entrepreneurship, and to promote knowledge of primary healthcare, reduce infant mortality and increase access to education. While they are currently looking for funding, they also assist women in establishing projects in agriculture, mining and arts and curios.

It’s a good thing that Minister Biti was prevented from overlooking the request to include in the country’s budget an allocation for the removal of anti-Zanu PF graffiti. With Zimbabwe at such a delicate stage in its economic and social recovery, we cannot afford to have issues pivotal to national development being neglected. We appreciate that many senior government officials are new to their jobs, including the Minister, and it is therefore helpful that their unity government counterparts, who have the benefit of years and years of experience, are willing and able to assist in highlighting national budget issues that might otherwise be overlooked.

Take for example the sanctions imposed by the West. These illegal measures have made life very difficult for Zimbabweans, which is why calls for their lifting have been relentless. Through the national budget Minister Biti could aid the process to expedite their repeal and a good way to do this would be to establish a committee to lobby against them. The budgeted amount would need to be sizeable considering the work involved and related expenses – salaries, employee benefits, office space rentals, purchase of vehicles, office furniture and equipment. Not to mention the costs of organising conferences, seminars and roundtables to tackle the issue; but all for a good cause.

Another national project that definitely requires a focus in the budget is Indigenisation.  In Zimbabwe, it has become paramount that we get total control of our resources through the acquisition of controlling stakes in mines and other businesses with majority foreign shareholding. In order that the impact of Indigenisation is extensive and effective Minister Biti should provide money to change the names of all entities, both private and public, to reflect the principles of this policy. Thus, the names of companies, businesses, schools, organisations etc would be properly altered to bear the correct ratio of foreign is to native. For example, Shenyang Xinbei Restaurant could become Zhingu-Zhongu Restaurant while the party would be Zimbabwe African Nyika Union – Pamberi Front.

Whilst the youth of Zimbabwe won’t rule today, they are the future and must be equipped to play their part in national duty. To date, the government has done commendable work in this regard, providing vocational training to the country’s youth who would otherwise have become engaged in indecent activities. Considering that elections will be held next year, Minister Biti should bolster financial support for these training camps so that youth are not tempted to become involved in wrongful violence and other untoward activities.  A budget allocation towards improving the youth’s skills in combat is as pivotal to their personal education as it is to national security.

The country’s expectations are high and Minister Biti must navigate a tightrope.  However, if he puts aside party politics we can all be assured that the best possible budget can be structured for the nation.

At a media roundtable discussion on “Constitution in Transition: The Role of the Media“, which was facilitated by Professor Andrew Arato, various issues where discussed with regards to the current constitution making process in Zimbabwe. Various media groups attended the discussion including Kubatana.

Public participation in the on going constitution process is the only way we can have a people driven constitution. People need to understand that a constitution is a document that will be used by future generations. Currently Zimbabwe is using the Lancaster House constitution which has been amended 19 times, so in order to come up with a better constitution than the Lancaster one every Zimbabwean should be given an opportunity to have his/her views heard. On the issue of the role of media in Zimbabwe, I liked Professor Arato’s comments when he said “media as a monitoring tool can help to change behaviour of politicians in the constitution making process”. Media and civil society can play a role in the constitution making process by sensitising the public. I believe a lot needs to be done by media in publishing contributions from different sectors of our society rather than to hear a one sided story, especially from a political party trying to campaign.

Recently in Kenya they had their constitution making process and finally came up with a new constitution.  Social media played a major role. I believe new media can play a significant role in Zimbabwe especially in this era where people can now have access to Internet even on phones. We should not underestimate the power of new media.  Since the 2008 political violence many people in Zimbabwe developed this anti politics stance and a lot still believe that even the current constitution making process is only for politicians. The only way to change this kind of attitude is to raise awareness of the importance of the constitution making process so that there is full participation from every Zimbabwean. Since the consultation process is done we are now entering the collation of the information so that final draft can be produced.  People need to have access to the Lancaster house constitution, the 2000 draft (the one which was rejected), the Kariba draft and the final draft, which will be published soon so that they understand the difference and make decisions that best suit them. The role of media in this process is to ensure information reaches the people so that when we go for referendum no one can say I didn’t know what I was voting for.