The question of the treatment of pregnant schoolgirls, and expectant young fathers, in schools in Zimbabwe raised a great deal of discussion earlier this year.

In South Africa, it seems, this is also an issue, as the Mail & Guardian pointed out in Pregnancy unWelkom. There, the Human Rights Commission stepped in, protesting that Welkom High School’s treatment of a grade nine pupil, suspended because she was pregnant, was a violation of her rights to dignity, privacy and education, among others.

During my recent visit to Tafara suburb distributing the vendor wrapper with Zanele, we came across a private primary school. Some people may ask what’s so special about this school since in most suburbs there has been an upsurge in the number of private schools operating. What really attracted me to this school is the fact that nowadays it’s impossible to find someone who can volunteer to offer a service for no charge.

Chiedza/Khanyiso is a private school situated in Tafara suburb with another branch in Sunningdale. Founded in the year 2005 under the name Chiedza/Khanyiso which means light, the school is a symbol for hope to so many little children attending lessons.  The school enrols children from grade one up to six and the fascinating part is the way lessons are conducted at this school. There are two building structures, one is a church building without a roof and the other structure that looked like it was about to fall down, has benches made from wooden poles and it has no floor. Grade ones and twos share the makeshift building and lessons are conducted concurrently with grades three up six doing their lessons in one room in the roofless church building.

During my interview with Mr Chikwanha who is the overseer of the school, he said, “the main motivation behind running a school like Chiedza/Khanyiso is to assist children without birth certificates and those who can’t pay fees at government schools.” Mr Chikwanha a former teacher with over 40 years experience runs the school with assistance from two female volunteer teachers who showed pride in their work when we interviewed them. When we got the invitation to see the grade one and two classroom we saw faces filled with joy and hope. On the issue of birth certificates Mr Chikwanha said he approached the Registrar General’s Office and he managed to get assistance and some the children at school now have birth certificates. The school also gets assistance from the Salvation Army Church, which owns the church building being used as a classroom, and recently they received a donation of school uniforms from Childline. Since we are now in summer there is a possibility that these children will skip lessons during rainy days.

Children pay a fee of $5 per term and this only covers admin expenses for the school with little to spare to buy textbooks and proper furniture said Mr Chikwanha. Under Millennium Development Goal Number 2, which aims to ensure that all children of school going age have access to primary education by the year 2015, one wonders if Zimbabwe can meet the deadline as most parents are still finding it difficult to pay school fees for their children. With the introduction of BEAM (Basic Education Assistance Module) in all government schools not all children have managed to access this fund and this has forced many parents to send their children to private schools like Chiedza/Khanyiso where they can afford to pay the low fees.

So many times people sit at a bar, or family gatherings or even stand in supermarket aisles and complain. It’s almost as though complaining is the first thing we were taught at school.

We complain that it doesn’t rain, and when it does, we complain that it’s raining. We complain about the economy, we complain that there aren’t enough jobs. We complain about the banks, we complain about having to bribe the police. We complain about poor service from ZESA, ZINWA and City of Harare, and when we feel there isn’t anything left to complain about we complain about the government.

So much time and energy is put into articulating these complaints to anyone who will listen. It’s always someone else’s fault, never our own that we let things go so far in Zimbabwe. And we take it further, expecting someone, anyone to fix our problems. We have become so passive as a nation it’s no wonder that corrupt politicians and businessmen feel that they can get away with anything, who is going to stop them?

What would happen if all those complaints, those endless hours spent complaining about how terrible everything is were translated into action? What if instead of passive complaining we collectively did something about our complaints?

Mahatma Gandhi said ‘You must be the change you want to see in the world … In a gentle way you can shake the world.’ No one has to start a revolution in order to be a revolutionary. People like Wangari Maathai, Mother Theresa and Rosa Parks created change just by being – doing the little that they could. They were committed to their beliefs, and defended them when necessary, even though they didn’t have the loudest voices.

It doesn’t take very much to do the right thing every day. Every step taken, every word spoken and written, counts.

Kubatana recently received this interesting opinion from Arkmore Kori:

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. (Mohandas Gandhi).

Recent political developments such as the impasse concerning the Government of National Unity with only four months before it expires and the constitutional stalemate have made it fashionable to talk about elections as the only solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

Many, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, believe that with the help of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations, peaceful elections are possible. Some have even called for either regional or international stakeholders to be deployed in Zimbabwe to safeguard peace during election time.

But our experience shows that SADC and the AU are powerless to stop any political or election violence in Zimbabwe. When they came for the June 2008 run-off, they just ‘observed’ both elections and the accompanying violence with the mild conclusion: ‘elections were not free and fair!’ In fact, it’s a bit ambitious to expect SADC or AU to make Zimbabwe a better place. President Mugabe did not join SADC, but is the only surviving founder of then Frontline States, which changed into the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) before becoming SADC. This means he has a lot of influence in regional decision-making. At the same time, it’s SADC that advises AU on regional issues, including the Zimbabwean question. This means any decision made on Zimbabwe at either regional or continental level, is indirectly made by Mugabe.

Indeed, except for Operation Gukurahundi of the 1980s, which had an external influence in the substance of North Korea, the political and electoral violence that has been occurring in Zimbabwe, particularly after the year 2000, has been home grown. It has been organised and perpetrated by four community based conglomerates – traditional leaders, war veterans, youth militias and the ‘women’s league’ – that work together.

Against their traditional role of safeguarding our culture, providing food to the needy (remember Zunde Ramambo?), mediating conflicts and preserving peace, traditional leaders have become an extension of the deteriorating ZANU PF structures. Their mandate in Zimbabwe’s internal conflict is ‘selling out’, pin-pointing and compiling lists of ZANU PF opponents for the salaries and numerous benefits, including houses, vehicles and electrification provided at the tax payers’ expense. The youth are responsible for administering the list of opponents and effecting ‘punishment’ according to instructions they receive from war veterans. The ‘women’s league’ provides moral support: ululating, singing and clapping during torture or murder sessions.

The way forward is to destroy this network. The removal of the youth from this violence equation would make elections safer. Real war veterans and traditional leaders are too old to torture or kill. Recently in Bikita the youth refused to be ‘used’ in violence by war veterans. Communities must discourage the youth from cooperating with violence mongers. Instead, the youth should become the defenders of their communities against the ‘intrusion’ and violence, especially caused by ‘imported youth’ from other villages or districts.

Surely, we don’t need SADC, AU, United Nations or international forces to stop us from beating or killing one another?

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) sent us through this statement supporting the provision of condoms in prisons for important reasons of public health and human rights.

GALZ supports calls by the Ministry of Health and Child welfare to provide condoms to prisoners as a noble move in fighting HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe’s prisons.

The danger of sexual violence in prisons is extremely increased under conditions of severe overcrowding and malnutrition such as currently prevails in Zimbabwe.

Prison culture encourages men to have sex with men if not necessitating it and you will often find aggressor/victim type relationships. The mere existence of sexual relationships between inmates who do not identify as homosexual or bisexual is powerful testimony to men’s need for and ability to create intimacy when faced with factors such as confinement for longer periods.

Due to the fact that men generally have a high sex drive, they are bound to have sex regardless of circumstances. By making condoms unavailable and by not acknowledging that men have sex with men in prison, the government and prison authorities are encouraging the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS and putting pressure on the national health budget.

Gender roles and identities in prison are defined primarily by the ability to exercise power. It is important that those less able to stand up for themselves and not be bullied into unwanted sex, protect themselves. Not providing condoms to prisoners has serious implications. When prisoners are eventually released and come back into society to wives and girlfriends, they may infect healthy partners and thus spread HIV.

This isn’t about condoning homosexuality. It is a practical health based human rights issue that seeks to protect the health of both those who are incarcerated as well as people on the other side of the prison walls.

Government, in it’s bid to stem the HIV/AIDS infection rates should ensure that inmates are provided with condoms. We also call upon the Justice Ministry to improve the conditions of the country’s prison system and address overcrowding in these facilities to ensure that prisoners are not exposed to diseases such as Tuberculosis.

Making condoms available to prisoners does not encourage homosexuality; it protects the health of prisoners and their partners outside of prison.

UNESCO: Africans Urge Cancellation of Obiang Prize

Prize is an Affront to Efforts to Promote Human Rights and Good Governance in the Continent

(Paris., October 11, 2010) – Citizens of Equatorial Guinea and prominent African figures including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, and author Chinua Achebe wrote to UNESCO’s Executive Board today urging them to cancel definitively the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Prize for Research in the Life Sciences.

The letter, signed by 125 African laureates, scholars, human rights defenders, and citizens of Equatorial Guinea, cited the record of serious abuses and mismanagement of the country’s wealth by the eponymous funder of the prize, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.

“The continued existence of this prize is inimical to UNESCO’s mission and an affront to Africans everywhere who work for the betterment of our countries,” the letter said.

Equatorial Guinea has the highest GDP per capita on the continent, yet 3 out of 4 Equatoguineans live in poverty. There are no research centers in Equatorial Guinea that would enable a citizen of the country to qualify for the UNESCO-Obiang award, and even basic education and health care remain unattainable for the vast majority. Civil liberties are heavily curtailed: in August, four Equatoguinean refugees were abducted from neighboring Benin, tortured for months and then summarily tried and executed.

“While Equatorial Guinea’s government has tried to characterize opposition to this prize as racist and colonialist, in fact many Africans have been vocal opponents of the prize,” said Tutu Alicante, an Equatoguinean and Executive Director of the human rights organization EG Justice. “Not all Africans believe that a dictator should be able to purchase legitimacy through a prize created in Paris. Many recognize that this prize harms Africans.”

UNESCO’s Executive Board has a responsibility to protect the organization’s integrity, which this prize places in jeopardy. “[T]he diversion of wealth that should benefit Equatoguineans to finance a prize honoring President Obiang runs counter to the objective of improving human dignity that underpins the mission of UNESCO,” the letter said.

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EG Justice is a non-governmental organization that promotes human rights and the rule of law, transparency and civil society participation to build a just Equatorial Guinea.