Last week I attended a press conference for a fellow activist brother and I was in conflict with the work I do.
Grace Chirenje
As I stood there witnessing the proceedings, I could not help but curiously enquire on the status of the women in my activist brother’s life. I watched with intrigue as the mother and wife who had her two toddler children sit away from the main table where most of the action was taking place.
I am not sure whether it was just my feminist lense in over-drive but what I did surely pick was that these women seemed disconnected from the process and whether they actually understood what was going on was another level of unpacking.
It was then that I realised that as women, there is still so much we have to work towards if our realities are going to be included in the narrative of transformation and making a difference. This counts for both our private and public lives.
Activism in Zimbabwe
I love Zimbabwe and am as patriotic as they get, I would like to believe — I mean seriously, am still here after all this madness I witness every single day! There is a lot that is happening and I will not use up my word space by unpacking the varying degrees of suffering that many of us Zimbabweans have to bear. However, all is not lost at all.
The past two weeks have shown that Zimbabweans have had just about enough of this madness. We can talk about the prison rioting, students at the University of Zimbabwe standing up to paying fees and yet no lectures being administered, we also have my last week’s highlight, the ongoing #bring-back-itai-dzamara campaign.
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And as fate would have it, a research was launched last week conducted by Afrobarometer (whatever you think on it please let us at least have this as empirical data and evidence) and a local NGO that showed the extent of discontent among Zimbabweans. So what am I saying? That Zimbabweans are not happy and have had just about enough thus they are clearly becoming defiant and standing up for what they believe in. However, in all this action, there seems to be a glaring gap of unpacking whatever realities through a gender lense, which I think, is critical.
Women form the majority of the population of Zimbabwe and should thus be a force to reckon with. This should not just be at national level, it has got to start from a personal level, if it will realise any meaningful benefit in this our patriarchy-dominated world. Women are leading in various sectors in a bid to realise their constitutional right of equality and equity in Zimbabwe but still, more needs to be done. Now back to the reflection of that press conference
Feminising the Itai Dzamara Campaign
Whilst as women we do stand for what we believe is right, we do suffer the brunt of what our male counterparts do and even our husbands sometimes. I met Saffra with her two children as I mentioned earlier. She was sitted next to her mother-in-law as I was informed her to be.
I loved the support of the two women, the sisterly solidarity that defied the usual, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are sworn enemies story. It was good seeing them next to each other and sharing in silence the pain of having their most beloved husband and son not being present with them. However, this was not enough, I would have loved to hear them speak, I wanted to hear their story from them, they should have shared their sorrow, joys, reflections and thoughts.
Women’s narratives are critical when they share them in their very own voice. When a woman speaks and shares her experience, in her own voice, something magical happens to the listeners as they walk her journey with her.
Well, just like in many cases where women’s narratives are explored, this did not happen at the press conference. There could have been very good reasons for this not happening and I respect them, but being a feminist activist and leader, I still think their journey should have been shared.
After all, they are the mother and wife alright. After all the political mileage that various players are getting from this, Itai still remains his mother’s son. He still remains husband to Saffra.
I had no power to place them at the top table but I do have the power, strength and influence to share their story as I too am a woman with a son and a husband. Their pain I can almost relate to my own and our narratives resonate at many levels. That being said, women should take a place at the top positions so that they can share theirs and others stories as a way of facilitating transformation for women’s lived realities.
It needs to happen if Zimbabwe is to be a much healthier space for activism and development with actively participating women’s voices. Our constitution spells it out and so do our policies, we need our actions to follow our mouth and the words we utter in as far as women’s inclusion is concerned.
Wrapping it up
Sad to say, Itai is still missing and I also want to take this time to add my voice to say he should be brought back, alive, safe and in one piece.
Prayers go out to him and his family, especially the wife. However, this story speaks for many women who suffer in silence with the realities of their loved ones disappearing and vanishing into thin air.
Zimbabwe is a wonderful nation, with the most amazing people who are keen on goodness and this goodness should be seen as we strive towards ensuring the safety of women by protecting their rights, even when their husbands are the activists hungry for social transformation.
This case is the point of reflection but many political activists have suffered the same brunt and their women counterparts still suffer to this day, as they cannot account of their whereabouts. My call today is that we respect women by supporting them so they share their stories as we hold hands to transform this our beautiful country. We just cannot be silent.
This is not a call to disrespect the various leaders in the many offices.
Grace Chirenje writes in her personal capacity and would be excited to hear from you. You can contact Grace on [email protected], follow her on twitter @graceruvimbo or like her Facebook page Grace Ruvimbo Chirenje.
