Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has received updates of police sanctioning the right to protest by Hwange women and discrimination of women in Chitungwiza through operation Chipo Chiroorwa (women get married).

Information reaching WOZA indicates that over 100 Hwange women attempted to march to the Hwange Colliery General Manager’s office to demand their husbands pay. Police reaction group acted overzealously and arrested the ring leaders on Sunday night and then when the demonstrations went ahead, they used excessive force to disperse the women. The women who were gathered to march from Hwange Colliery’s villages 2, 3, and 5 to the general office. Instead of engaging the peaceful women whose husbands have not been paid for 5 months, the company remains silent and no comments were made by the husbands whose wives whose were forced to take action.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Chitungwiza women have been arrested and charged for ‘loitering’ for merely exercising their right to entertainment during the evening hours since Friday, 4th of October 2013. This is gender discrimination as no men were arrested or charged under this selective application of loitering laws. Additionally this operation is demeaning by implication that a woman who goes out at night is unmarried.

WOZA wish to remind the Zimbabwe Republic Police that the rule of law by use of baton sticks and excessive force should have ended with the promulgating of the new constitution where gender equality is a founding value and principle. WOZA call for the urgent and immediate formation of the gender commission and ask women to prepare submissions to flood the commission with word to create a culture of respect for the equal treatment before the law and equal rights for all genders in Zimbabwe.

WOZA extend solidarity support to women of Hwange and Chitungwiza and ask them to stand fast for gender equality and the struggle for a better standard of living for living for all Zimbabweans.