THE Zimbabwean woman navigates a world where she is often seen as an easy target.
From the threat of violent criminals like Anymore Zvitsva to the daily disrespect she faces in professional spaces, her safety is never guaranteed.
Yet there is a particular form of daily terror that has become so common we almost treat it as normal — the aggressive behaviour of rank marshals, popularly known as mahwindi (touts), and the street children who survive by snatching property from passersby.
It is estimated that the vast majority of Zimbabwean women carry a traumatic story involving these two groups.
What is most disturbing is the callous way society has turned this pain into a joke. On social media, people frequently post “funny” stories about the insults shouted by mahwindi, with comment sections flooded by laughing emojis. We have reached a point where verbal abuse is not only tolerated but glamorised.
I have personally experienced such violation. My headphones were snatched in broad daylight. The most painful part was not just the loss of my property, but the indifference of the crowd around me. People simply continued with their business as if nothing had happened. We have become accustomed to the unacceptable.
Keep Reading
- Police offer huge reward for Guruve serial killer
- Arrested Guruve serial killer shot
- Guruve serial killer remanded on hospital bed as court hears chilling details of alleged murder spree
- Guruve serial killer linked to 15 murder cases
When I spoke to other women about their experiences, the stories were heartbreaking. One woman shared how she was conned out of her last bit of change and had to seek help at a police station just to get home. Another described the humiliation of having her wig snatched by a group of street children while bystanders looked on.
One particularly disturbing account involved a pregnant woman who was forced to kneel in public to “thank her husband” simply to satisfy the egos of men at a bus rank.
These encounters do more than ruin a day — they crush a woman’s dignity and self-esteem. While perpetrators dismiss this behaviour as “rank culture” or harmless fun, it is in fact dehumanising harassment that leaves victims embarrassed, violated and traumatised.
This is where the real danger lies. Research on the normalisation of crime shows that when societies ignore so-called minor acts of harassment, they send a powerful message to perpetrators that they are in control. Psychologists describe this as the normalisation of deviance.
Every time we laugh at a “harmless” insult, we provide a greenlight for something worse.
Perpetrators use these moments to test boundaries. If they can humiliate a woman publicly without anyone intervening, they feel emboldened to escalate — from insults to theft, and eventually to physical violence. By tolerating the small violations, society inadvertently trains offenders to become more dangerous.
The geography of our cities has effectively created “no-go zones” for women. Many are warned not to wear wigs or jewellery along Robert Mugabe Way or in certain downtown areas because that is where these groups “hunt”.
There are even reports that stolen wigs are resold to hairdressers at cheap prices, turning harassment into an underground economy.
It is tragic that it took the horrific sexual assault of a Grade 7 pupil at the Rezende bus terminus for authorities and commissions to begin demanding stronger enforcement.
We did not have to wait for a child to be raped before deciding that women deserve to walk freely in their own city.
Authorities must launch a serious operation to hold perpetrators accountable. Female officers should go undercover in hotspots to catch offenders in the act. At the same time, society must stop being silent
bystanders.
This behaviour is not “just the way they are”. It is a choice — one enabled by the knowledge that no one will intervene.
If we continue to treat harassment as normal life, we are simply giving these men permission to continue their rampage.
It is illegal.
It is cruel.
And it must end.