IT was quite astonishing in this day and age to hear a woman of First Lady Grace Mugabe’s stature blaming rape victims for their ordeal, but it revealed how far Zimbabwe has to go in terms of gender equity.
A lot has been said about Grace’s comments, but none more poignant than the utterances of South Africa’s Women Affairs minister Susan Shabangu, who said Grace needed to be liberated from her oppression.
For starters, rapists are a sick lot, who will not be bothered whether their victims wear miniskirts, long dresses or trousers.
Dressing counts for little in their quest to dehumanise women, that is why we hear of infants and the elderly being raped.
Grace would do well to explain how an aging woman or an infant in her nappies arouse men leading to their rape.
Shabangu hit the nail on the head when she said Grace is oppressed and needs to be liberated, otherwise how can anyone explain her oafish remarks on rape?
Grace should know better than blame the victims for their ordeal.
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Cases of rape and gender-based violence are worryingly high in this country and are often under-reported, hallmarks of a broken society.
The best way to mend Zimbabwe is if women in lofty positions, like Grace, can condemn violence against women, yet we have her all but condoning and blaming women.
It does not matter what women wear — even if they go naked — that is not an invitation for rape and Grace should know better.
Only 12 months ago, Grace spoke out strongly about touts who harassed women wearing miniskirts and we all thought this was the voice of reason.
A few months later, some touts were jailed for abusing women and ordinary Zimbabweans must have celebrated that the law, seen as a vestige of patriarchy, was now working to protect women.
How wrong we were.
Grace has made a volte-face, pegging back the fight for gender equity.
One of the panellists, who sat with Shabangu at The New Age breakfast meeting on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, said he would lobby other African Union First Ladies to engage Grace on her statements, and we hope they can get through to their Zimbabwean counterpart.
The fight for gender equity has come a long way, it is not where women want it, but importantly, there has been movement and hopefully it will not be set back by people like Grace.
Already we have heard reports of women being harassed at some terminuses for wearing miniskirts, with the perpetrators telling their victims that Grace said they were asking for it.
As the boss of the Zanu PF Women’s League, we can only pray that Grace’s remarks were a slip of the tongue and that she will issue a correct statement soon.
