Elections and the new Constitution.

Reblogged from Research and Advocacy Unit:

This is an article written by one of our researchers which appeared in The Independent (Zimbabwe) on 27 Jul 2012.

The official figures released by ZEC for the results Presidential run-off election of June 2008 indicated that Robert Mugabe had garnered approximately one million more votes than he had during the first round of voting just three months earlier. Yet according to ZEC the voter turnout, was exactly as it had been in March - around 42% of the registered voters.

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Empower a woman, empower a nation – new report from RAU

After the violent elections in 2008, which saw the losing party keep its grip on power in a shaky government of national unity, Zimbabwe is expecting to go to the polls again in 2013. Considering that no justice has been done to the many women who suffered the state sponsored violence, harassment and rape, what do women think about the next election?

“It is evident that the events of 2008 have taken something from the women. Some have lost the zeal to vote, others their freedom to express which political party they support and to freely campaign for the party…. These events have taken away their power to assert themselves and state clearly their choices.”

These bold words are from the recent report Empower a Woman, Empower a Nation! from the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) about women’s preparedness for the next election given their experiences in the last election.

According to the report, “The violence of 2008 was a reality check of what state-sponsored violence looked like to a woman with political aspirations. Would a woman ever want to take part in politics having seen the reality of what could happen to them?” Security remains the biggest concern Zimbabwean women, who find it hard to see how they can participate freely in the next election. Experiences from the 2008 elections are clear evidence that there is no hiding place for female activists. Women remember how neighbours told the perpetrators of violence which party they belonged to and how people shied away from helping victims, fearing for their own safety.

Since the last elections, women have been denied justice for the crimes committed, and today they feel hopeless and unable to protect themselves. In the current situation where there is no effective and non-partisan system for conducting elections and protecting women there is a high risk of the population taking the law in their own hand. “My children saw the way I was beaten up and they saw me injured. Once in a while I hear them say if they come back again this time around we will have petrol bombs ready to retaliate if they try to harm you again” said one of the women in RAUs survey. This shows a gloomy picture of the future if the government does not make serious efforts to restore law and order in the country before the next elections.

In spite of the fear and apathy, Zimbabwean women remain committed to fight the battle for their rights and they have clear opinions on what needs to be done. In addition to ensuring peace and security and ending impunity, women need education on their rights and economic empowerment to be able to claim their space in the political arena. Equally important is the solidarity between women to jointly fight against the cultural and social perception of women, power and politics.

Download the report Empower a Woman, Empower a Nation!

Explore more research on political violence against women and women’s political participation.

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A shadow of violence looming over Zimbabwe

In its latest report, Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) concludes that the political environment seems calm, but under the surface it is filled with tension as parties in the GNU continue with infighting and testing each other’s muscle. A semblance of peace prevails, but there is a shadow of violence that continues to loom vividly.

Although the level of physical violence is still limited, several grave human rights abuses have been committed by state agents and youth gangs in recent months.

The feared youth gang Chipangano continues to harass the opposition by disturbing MDC’s political meetings and rallies and threatening people with grave repercussions if they vote for MDC at the next election. The police fails to intervene, and Chipangano therefore has increasing control in the high density suburbs of Harare.

The police has embarked on a campaign of terror targeting taxi and bus drivers, and 8 police officers took the law in their own hands when they killed a civilian and injured 11 people in a case involving trading in fake gold.

This is happening in a situation where citizens have already lost confidence and trust in the police, which is viewed as the extended arm of the political leaders rather than a non-partisan protector of public order and safety for citizens. With Robert Mugabe’s unilateral and unconstitutional re-appointment of Augustine Chihuri as Police Commissioner, there is limited hope that the police will return to normality.

With increased tension in the Government of National Unity as the battle for control of the political arena intensifies as the parties prepare for elections, there is reason to believe that the level of intimidation as well as violence will be increasing.

Download the ZESN Ballot Update February_March.

Do you have the PHD Syndrome?

By Kudakwashe Chitsike, Research and Advocacy Unit, Zimbabwe

“Unless and until we get rid of PHD, women will not go far in any field.” In this context a PHD is not a doctorate degree, it is an acronym that stands for Pull Her Down. The Pull Her Down Syndrome is sadly one that most women suffer from regardless of status in society.  Upon hearing the term for the first time I was shocked as it seemed in the group there were a few of us who had never heard of the PHD, I knew what it was but I hadn’t realised that the behaviour had its own acronym!

The syndrome is based on an inferiority complex, “We look down upon each other and ourselves by saying we are not able to do it, let the men do it.”
The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) held 11 focus group discussions with women from different parts of the country to talk about politically motivated violence against women. The focus group discussions also explored what women are likely to face as we draw closer to elections, looking at what happened in past elections and what efforts are being made to protect women from violence.  Inevitably these discussions also brought about the issue of encouraging women to participate in national processes and aspire to hold positions of authority. It is within this context that we established that the PHD is holding women back as women do not support other women to occupy leadership positions. W “We grew up being told that men should be the ones’ to lead so we still have that mentality and letting it go is a bit difficult.”   It was stated repeatedly that when a woman is
standing for a political position, she has to struggle for acceptance from her peers as petty jealousies based mainly on gossip rear their ugly heads. The main reason for women selling out other women is seldom for their political affiliations but mostly because of the PHD syndrome; politics provides a
perfect cover for women to settle scores that have accumulated over years.

Another issue that features in the political PHD syndrome is marital status; if a woman is single, involved in politics and successful the most common misconception is that she used unscrupulous mainly immoral means to get to the top.“A married woman is said to be more honourable than one who is not married so when an unmarried woman runs for office she is judged harshly.”  If she is married then she doesn’t have a strong husband who can bring her to order as politics and marriage do not mix, never mind that men have been doing it for time immemorial.

A woman involved in politics, as with women in other male dominated fields has to work twice as hard to gain respect and ironically the people she has to impress the most are other women. Women would rather nominate a man than another woman for a political position, as “men are more educated and politically astute”, but when we asked how the women will ever become educated and
astute if we do not give them opportunities, the women had no response.

The women in the focus groups acknowledged that women need to be given the opportunities to learn on the job but stated that there is a need for a total change in mindset, so that we accept that women can do the same as men in politics and any other fields considered to be male domain. The way to address this is by having confidence building sessions for women which should start with
confidence in the home before addressing what happens in the public arena. The inferiority complex results in “women not standing up for what they want so if someone says that we are unable to do something then we start to doubt ourselves and believe that we will fail and thus we fail before we even begin.”

For there to be a change in mindset it is important to look at cultural and religious beliefs that perpetuate the myth that women are below men and they are overstepping their bounds when they participate in politics. It is important to involve the men and older women as they are the custodians of the beliefs that oppress women. Women’s organisations have to take on a much bigger role and
increase visibility particularly in the rural areas where cultural and religious beliefs which discriminate against women are deeply rooted.

It has been said often enough by women in high political positions that it is an uphill journey to the top for a woman to stand against a man for a position. They have to contend with sexual harassment and or sexual violence, superiority complexes from their male counterparts without having to deal with the PHD from women.  Instead of supporting the efforts of those who are brave enough to say ‘bring it on’ to the men, other women are scheming to find ways to bring her down.  The women stated that many times when a woman is elected, she stops behaving and thinking like a woman and takes on a ruthless male persona, where she has forgotten the struggles she endured as a woman to get there, she forgets about the women left behind in the struggle.

Women in these discussions varied in age, geographical locations, backgrounds and political affiliation but their responses were very similar with regard to PHD, “we women are our own worst enemies as we don’t want to see our peers succeed.”  The PHD syndrome however is not confined to the political realm it appears in every aspect of every woman’s life. It is about undermining the efforts
of another for usually very superficial reasons. As women we should implement programmes that encourage women and girls to grab equal opportunities with men as well as support each other in whatever areas we decide to venture into.

This post derives from RAU’s (the Research and Advocacy Unit) latest opinion piece. For more information about RAU go to: http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/

Zimbabwe promises respect for human rights

When Justice and Legal Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, attended the 19^th Session at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2012, he made a number of promises to improve the human rights situation, including special attention to women’s rights. But with the Government of National Unity’s poor track record when it comes to respecting human rights, it is questionable if these promises will translate into actual changes on the ground.

In October, 2011, Zimbabwe underwent the Universal Period Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Chinamasa, accepted a wide range of recommendations aiming to improve the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, including 15 recommendations directly dealing with women’s political participation and prevention of marginalisation and gender-based violence.

Since October, Chinamasa has had some time to think, and in his address to the Human Rights Council on 15^th March he made further promises, such as implementation of domestic policies to prevent political violence; ratification of the Convention Against Torture and operationalizing the Human Rights Commission to enable it to investigate human rights abuses.

Zimbabwe Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, speaking at the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

These words are full of promises of a brighter future for women of Zimbabwe, but knowing the history of the current regime’s disregard of its obligations to protect its citizens and promote human rights and social justice for all, there is limited hope that the words will lead to significant changes for men and women of Zimbabwe.

On the contrary, Zimbabwe’s regime has over the years repeatedly proved that promises and signatures on conventions have very limited impact on the actual actions on ground. The Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) serves as a good example.

Zimbabwe ratified CEDAW in 1991, but at the review by the CEDAW Committee in February this year, it became glaringly clear that the state had done very little to live up to its obligations to protect and promote women’s right to take part in the social, economic and political development of Zimbabwe. Despite rosy words and intentions laid out in the Zimbabwean State Report to the CEDAW Committee, the result of the review showed that in reality very little has been done to protect and promote the rights of women.

Women in Zimbabwe are still to a large extent excluded from influence on equal terms with men, and in addition female politicians and civic activists, associated with the democracy movement, are direct targets of state-sponsored political violence.  No serious efforts have been made to end impunity for perpetrators of political violence and make sure women are free and safe to participate in politics and public life.

In spite of the increased pressure on Zimbabwe’s government based on the international human rights obligations, these are only small steps towards greater respect for the rights of all Zimbabweans.

International human rights treaties and review mechanisms are important ways of identifying and addressing human rights violations, but the only way Zimbabweans will see real improvements on the ground is when people stand up and demand their rights as human beings and as citizens of Zimbabwe. Civil society and the broader democracy movement plays an important role in mobilising and organising Zimbabweans to push for the government to become accountable to its people.

Will a new constitution lead to peaceful elections?

Despite hopes that a new constitution will lead the way to free and fair elections, there are limited signs that Zimbabwe is heading for a peaceful transition to democracy.

Zimbabwe’s constitution-making process is moving into its last stage before a referndum as the Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) is putting the final touches on the draft constitution. Although the political parties seek to give the impression that COPAC is in charge of the drafting, but there is no doubt that the final draft will be a politically negotiated settlement between the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M.

Looking back at the GNU’s disastrous track record, when it comes to finding solutions to Zimbabwe’s economic, political and social challenges, there is a high chance that the constitution will reflect the will of the political elite, rather than the people’s desire for a democratic and socially just Zimbabwe.

What is more worrying, however, is the GNU’s inability to change the political climate in Zimbabwe. For decades the political contest has been characterised by violent repression of pro-democracy forces, which culminated in the extreme levels of political violence during the 2008 elections.

Turning the culture of violence and impunity into a peaceful society based on democratic principles will as a minimum require a re-building of the professionalism in the police, military and court system, which have been heavily politicised in the past decades. Unfortunately the signs are pointing in the opposite direction. A recruitment campaign of ZANU-PF activists into the military and police and Iran’s pledges of military support to Zimbabwe, indicates what to expect as Zimbabwe moves towards the constitutional referendum and elections.

Even in the unlikely event that a democratic constitution is put forward for a referendum and Mugabe gives up his control of the security sector, there is no guarantee that this will lead to an end to the culture of violence and impunity, which has become part and parcel of Zimbabwean politics. Development of a genuine democracy must  come from a broad-based mobilisation of democratic forces, which can push the political elite to become accountable to the people of Zimbabwe.