Allow me to share with you a statement from one of my favourite authors, Anne Bronte, one of the first feminist writers. It reads “Sick of mankind and their disgusting ways”. Ironically the statement was scribbled in her prayer book and one would wonder how such a statement got into a prayer book.  This shows that even in those early times there were strong women who saw that there were many mistakes being made by society that needed to be changed.

Anne wrote her works in the 1840s, a period known as the Victorian era when women were so disempowered. In her novel “The Tenant Wildfell Hall”, Anne questions the societal values and beliefs that gave men so much power over women. The novel portrays Helen’s eloquent struggle for independence at a time when the law and society defined a married woman as her husband’s property. Women were married off at very tender ages to “rich” men. During this period, wealth was highly regarded and women would scramble to get married to rich men. Parents also played a major role in arranging suitors for their children. This probably is what made Anne “Sick of mankind and their disgusting ways”. Anne never married. She died at 29, already labelled a spinster. She also wrote her works under a pseudonym “Action Bell” because women were not allowed to work and her books were published after her death.

As I read through the novel. I could not help reflecting on the life we are leading these days. Is history repeating itself? Will we ever get to the stage where we can totally empower the girl child? These are some of the questions that ran through my mind.  At least we’ve passed the stage where women were not allowed to work, where women were confined to the home; a stage where women were numbered amongst men’s property. I salute women’s rights activist organizations that are working tirelessly in empowering women.

My fear though is that history might be repeating itself in another form. I get very worried with the age at which girl children are getting married. I read an article in The Herald where parents gave away a fourteen year old virgin as compensation for her older sister who gave birth just before her marriage. The suitor intended to marry the elder sister but upon discovering that she was already pregnant by another man, parents offered the younger sister as compensation. Parents have also adopted a carefree attitude towards marriage. They are accepting lobola as a “bribe”if their daughter is impregnated while she is below 16 so that they will not report the matter to the police even though the law says that having sex with a girl under the age of 16 is a crime.

Also, the topical issue these days are about some religious sects that are forcing young girls into marriage under the guise of the Holy Spirit. Are we going back to Anne’s era where girls and women are numbered among men’s property? Have we become so obsessed with marriage to the extent that we accept any suitor as long as that person is able to pay whatever bride price we ask for? Or has religion become a marriage ground where elders can just decide to offer girls to any man of their choice.

The death threats? Too numerous to count. The serious attempts on his life ranged from make-believe doctors offering potentially fatal “medicine” to a traffic accident that was no accident at all. In his native Zimbabwe, Chenjerai Hove has been ranked as high as No. 17 on the government’s Enemies of the State list. Read more

It has become normal in Zimbabwe to find two organizations doing the same business, and sharing the name but then suffixed somehow with another word to mark a difference. For example, ‘MDC T’, ‘MDC M’, ‘ZINASU Magwini’, ‘ZINASU Chinyere’, ‘CAPS FC’, ‘CAPS United’, just to mention a few. Even Churches have not been spared: ‘Johhane Marange’, ‘Johanne Masowe yeChishanu’, ‘Johanne Masowe yeMadzibaba’ and ‘Johnane Masowe yeVadzidzi’. One wonders why these divisions are happening. Even in these seemly intact institutions, its normal to hear of ‘this faction’ and ‘that other faction’. Many times conflicts are unavoidable, but is separation always the best answer? In every set up since time immemorial, there has always been a provision for dispute settlement. Conflicts are not new in our lives, our failure to handle them should labeled as such: FAILURE.

And this does not only happen at institutional level, but even at social and family level, you find those that were strong bonds now being totally disjointed. Friends, who were friends, are no longer. Parents who shared everything including children are now enemies for life. It is high time that we stop this trend and resort to amicable dispute settling mechanisms, which do not culminate in divisions. We all know that there is power in unity and a unified body is more dignified that its sub-parts. Even the bible makes it clear that “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25). Even the Shona say that “Shumba mbiri hadzibvutirwi nyama,” which literally means that one cannot take away meat from two lions. Recognising this power of unity, and recalling past experiences were disunity has cost us, it should be a lesson to throw out division forever.

The question is, what kind of precedence are we are setting for our future generations, in terms of professionalism, leadership qualities, comradeship, brotherhood and unity of purpose? The bottom line here is to bring things together when we see them falling apart.

PlusNews Global, an arm of IRIN, reports on HIV/AIDS news and analysis. Here’s one of their recent articles on Zimbabwe:

Moses Mataka, 49, diagnosed with the HIV virus seven years ago, was one of the first male home-based caregivers working in the mining district of Mberengwa, in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe, and perhaps he was one of the first in the country, but his road has not been easy.

“I tested HIV positive in 2003. I had been very ill for a very long time … One day I had a dream that God asked me to get up and do his work. Before I could ask, ‘What kind of work?’ I woke up from the dream and I was feeling stronger. My wife was making porridge for me when I walked into the kitchen. She almost fainted with disbelief.

“From that day I have never been ill to the extent of lying in bed for days. When I thought hard about the dream, I knew that the work I needed to do was to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in my community and save people’s lives. This was very difficult because I also did not have much knowledge about it.

“That was the starting point. I joined a support group and trained as a peer educator; after that I joined a home-based care programme [which closed down in 2005].

“After its closure we didn’t know what to do and our patients were stranded. Although we had no support we continued visiting our clients, giving them moral support.

“After that I joined the Betseranai Home Based Care programme … where we use male caregivers to encourage other men to get tested and support their wives in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT).

“Most women are afraid to go on this programme, because when the husbands find out they [the wives] are HIV positive they are chased away from the family home – they are blamed for bringing the disease into the home.

“This is the work I do as a “Male Champion”. We go and talk to men so that they understand what the benefits of PMTCT are, but it’s not an easy thing. Sometimes we are chased away from people’s homes; sometimes they close their doors in our faces, but we continue visiting them and trying to convince them.

“We men are just thick-headed – I know that for a fact. We take time to accept issues because we want to live in denial most of the time, but in Mberengwa, I tell you, we are changing mindsets. People are seeing the benefits of the PMTCT programme.”

ZimRights Director, Mr. Okay Machisa was arrested yesterday, Tuesday 23 March 2010 at Gallery Delta. He was in the process of finalising arrangements for the launch of an art exhibition entitled ‘/Reflections’/. Following the intervention by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Mr. Okay Machisa was released from Harare Central Police Station.

At a press conference today, Irene Petras, Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, described the conditions for Mr. Machisa’s arrest and the holding of the photographs in the following press statement:

The Officer Commanding Harare Central District, *Chief Superintendent G Gwangava,* advised that he had ‘/not approved’/ the launch and gave Mr. Machisa seven days to provide ‘/letters of consent from individuals and organisations’/ appearing in the photographs, failing which he threatened to prefer unspecified criminal charges against Mr. Machisa.

It is ZLHR’s considered legal opinion that the seizure and retention of the photographs by the police is unlawful and unjustifiable, as are the threats of criminal prosecution and the attempts to prevent the invitation-only launch from proceeding.

Such actions are solely calculated to instil fear and paralysis within civil society and to prevent free assembly, association and expression around national events and processes. For too long, civil society has been excluded by political parties and state institutions and actors from participating – as is its fundamental right – in issues around governance, national healing and reconciliation, and other matters which are in the national interest.

For this reason, ZLHR has been instructed by ZimRights to file – and has indeed filed – an Urgent Chamber Application demanding the immediate return of the photographs. The application also challenges the unjustifiable attempt to prevent the launch from taking place today, and the threats to prefer criminal charges, which, in our considered legal opinion, have no basis in law.

Mr. MacDonald Lewanika, co-ordinator for Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition expressed civic society’s concern regarding the unlawful arrest and harassment of civic activists by state security agents. These actions have escalated in the last few months. Other ZimRights officials as well as Mr. Machisa have received threats via cell phone and email. In addition, the Secretary General of the General Agriculture and plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe has also recently experienced harassment and intimidation from state agents. Mr Lewanika stressed that this behaviour was unwarranted and unjustifiable. Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition is working to bring these matters to the attention of the mediators in the dialogue process around Zimbabwe’s political agreement, including President of South Africa Jacob Zuma. When asked about engaging the Ministers of Home Affairs in this issue he said:

“I think that the question of local remedies in Zimbabwe in situations like this, and this kind of behaviour by the police shows that as a place where you can run to [for protection] they are not an option. This idea of even engaging the Co-Ministers of Home Affairs Mr. Giles Mutsekwa and his counterpart Mr. Kembo Mohadi, is something that even while we do it, we think that that is no way for a country to operate. You can’t ask for ministerial intervention every time that something happens. It shows us that the problems we are trying to deal with are more fundamental than what we are looking at. Which is why this is important. The exhibition itself sought to raise the issues around the conduct of the police services. The police need to conduct themselves in a manner that ensures that such actions [intervention by high ranking members of government] are not necessary.”

ZHLR is currently waiting to hear from the Judge President, and has asked for the photos to be returned. The launch, which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to attend, will go on as planned.

I was more interested in reading the comments on an article about the postponed New Zealand cricket tour to Zimbabwe on NewZimbabwe.com, than the actual article itself. The assertion by David Coltart that Zimbabwe is safer than the UK and other countries is resoundingly accurate. That is if you’re a member of a visiting sports team. But if you’re a human rights defender, an information activist, or a member of the general public who wants to wear an MDC t-shirt, you’re in big trouble. One of the readers who commented on the Coltart article likened Zanu PF to a terrorist organisation. How right, or wrong is this suggestion? Another reader berates Coltart for flip-flopping because until fairly recently, Coltart would have grabbed with two hands, any excuse for a sports boycott whether the grounds for the boycott were defendable, or spurious. Then again, I’d be interested to know whether this same reader who thinks Coltart has flip-flopped would praise Coltart for calling for a boycott of any international soccer team that wanted to play in Zimbabwe? I think not. New Zealand is using security as an excuse. They don’t want to tour Zimbabwe because of the Mugabe regime. And perhaps they have issues with Mugabe being the patron of Zimbabwe cricket. In which case they might well have to stand to attention on the green grass of Harare Sports Club and shake Mr M’s hand. And of course, Coltart, in a bid to woo the Kiwis, like many other politicians, suggests that the GNU has replaced a dictatorship when it clearly hasn’t.