Zim women speak up

2003-08-11 20:53

Johannesburg - When she opened the front door to her house, 28 year-old Patience Makoni (not her real name) thought she was letting in a friend who had called earlier to say she would be visiting her later that day.

Thirty minutes later, with a split upper lip, a severely bruised neck and bleeding from her vagina, it became clear to her that she had opened a door to the biggest violation of her life.

Events of that day are still vivid in her mind. Makoni, a vegetable vendor and supporter of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was brutally and repeatedly raped by seven soldiers during the mass action organised by the opposition and civil society groups in June to protest gross human rights violations in Zimbabwe.

In a moving testimony that left many in tears, Makoni described how she was attacked. "Ten men came to fetch me. They accused me of receiving support from (MDC leader) Morgan Tsvangirai. They walked me to a bush nearby, started assaulting me with their guns and fists. One of them tore off my underwear and they took turns to rape me, while holding me down by the neck," she testified.

Three of the soldiers refused to participate because they did not have condoms on them.

Makoni is just one of the hundreds of women in Zimbabwe who are bearing the brunt of politically motivated violence. The government refuses to acknowledge that violence exists and has been accused of further perpetuating it.

Survivors, trying to report beatings, rape, ransacking and looting of their property and other criminal acts are, sometimes, arrested, while the perpetrators are walking freely in the streets, unleashing violence on helpless people.

Risk

Determined that nothing will break their spirit to bring back peace to Zimbabwe, Makoni and a group of other women, who have also suffered other forms of violence, are telling their stories in the hope that this will mobilise action both at home and abroad to force the government to put an end to this violence.

These women are risking their lives. They could be targets for even more fierce attacks. "I am not afraid anymore, nothing else could be worse than what I have experienced already," said Makoni.

South Africa is their first stop, as part of their tour that will take them to other African countries under the auspices of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. Taking advantage of South Africa Women's Day, commemorated on August 8, the South African-based Zimbabwe Advocacy Campaign in collaboration with Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition brought five women from Zimbabwe to tell their stories.

"Government has been unrelenting in its efforts to try and prevent me from demanding good governance through my support of the MDC," said feisty Sarah Muchineripi.

Beaten

"I have been beaten repeatedly, my leg and arm broken. I have lost all my property, pots and pans, my house and the means to take care of my children," she told a group of people, including human rights activists, who gathered in Johannesburg to listen to their stories on Saturday.

Zimbabwe's state machinery has been perfected over years to divide and rule the society. The community spirit is broken as women like Muchineripi can no longer fall back on family and friends for support because anyone seen helping them will be victimised too. Muchinerip's uncle has been in hospital since June recovering from wounds sustained when he was beaten for allegedly sheltering Muchineripi.

"I am really saddened by all this because my uncle was not even aware of my whereabouts - they just attacked him because he is related to me," lamented Muchineripi.

In 2000 the world celebrated the dawning of a new millennium.

Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, that year ushered in political instability which started after the majority of Zimbabweans refused to accept a new constitution which was considered a product of a flawed process that did not reflect the wishes of the people.

Opposition swelling

Parliamentary elections that followed in June of the same year saw the government facing its toughest opposition since independence in 1980. The ruling Zanu-PF lost a majority of its seats in urban areas to the opposition MDC. The violence escalated.

Presidential elections, dogged by controversy, followed in 2002, sending a clear message to the government that the support that they once enjoyed was waning fast and support for the opposition was clearly swelling. The government panicked. They unleashed militia groups (made up of young men and women), who are trained to use violent tactics to silence any opposition.

Unfortunately women continue to bear the brunt of this violence. Human rights activists believe that women are easy targets for violence because of their status in society. "The fact that hundreds of women are being raped clearly indicates a pattern of violence against women, resulting from socially constructed perceptions of the position of women in society and the power of men," said Everjoice Win, a gender and human rights activist. She is also spokesperson for Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.

Hundreds

Violations of a sexual nature continue unabated because rape is still not considered a serious issue by society. Win also feels that Zimbabweans and foreigners have not yet grasped the gravity of the political violence in Zimbabwe because the victims do not have an identity.

"The world is hearing stories about women and girls being raped in Zimbabwe. But the world does not know who these women are, what their names are and never get to hear their voices describing what has happened to them," she said.

"By bringing these women to South Africa to talk about their experiences, we hope you are able to put names and a history to the victims of violence in Zimbabwe, instead of just talking about the hundreds of women who are being rape," Win told the gathering.

By telling their stories, these women want the world, especially Zimbabwe's neighbours, to understand the extent of human rights abuses being perpetuated against women. They want to contribute to efforts of building better co-ordinated response to the crisis in Zimbabwe and in other parts of the world where women find themselves in similar circumstances. - Sapa-IPS

- SAPA