Background
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has consulted with members over the last few weeks on the constitutional reform process initiated by Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)1 and recognise the opportunity to play a role in making this process result in a truly democratic Zimbabwe. WOZA has already been involved in joint civic society discussions on these developments and will continue to take part in a coordinated response. We are prepared to participate fully in the process but do so under protest as we feel there are serious shortcomings in the procedures articulated in the GPA.

Ordinary Zimbabweans were not consulted and did not input into the 15 September 2008 Global Political Agreement. It may therefore prove inadequate as a tool of creating a truly people-driven constitution.
Constitutional Amendment 19 went further in providing wide-ranging direction and oversight role to the Parliament of Zimbabwe, which makes the constitutional process subject to political party control.

Whilst we acknowledge that the people voted for Members of Parliament and Senators and recognise that they can be expected to represent the views of the people in their constituency, constitution making should be an inclusive process. It is a given that the whole nation needs to take ownership of their right to determine how they are governed. At the very least, elected representatives need to conduct public meetings to hear the views of the people in their constituencies in open and direct discussion rather than making unilateral decisions on our behalf.

Most importantly however, we feel that there is no real operating climate for full enjoyment by citizens of all their freedoms of expression and assembly. There continues to be flagrant disregard for the rule of law, politically motivated and indiscriminate arrests and detentions and a climate of fear remains. Citizens need a tangible sign that they will be able to meet and debate without harassment before a truly meaningful process can be embarked upon.

We recognise that Zimbabweans have long dreamed of their very own constitution, not a temporary arrangement that the Lancaster House Constitution was supposed to be. Instead of getting a truly people-driven process in 1987, the constitution was changed to become a one-party state. In 2000, they wanted to change it again to give the president even more executive powers. We voted NO because we wanted less concentration on executive powers. We have had too many false starts and still need to complete this reform process and come up with a constitution we can be proud of.

Taking the step
WOZA members believe that it is better to light a single candle than to complain about the darkness. In this spirit and committed to the constitutional reforms outlined in the WOZA People’s Charter and reaffirmed in the Zimbabwe People’s Charter, we will fully participate in order to ensure people are able to input into this most important of documents. We will contribute despite the threat of arrests and detentions. We will meet any attempts to disrespect our views with ‘tough love’.

We will take the step towards a fresh process with commitment and vigour, eager to vote in a referendum for a new constitution. We are impatient to arrive at the day we can vote in a free and fair election conducted in terms of the provision of that new democratic constitution so that we can complete the change and get on with our lives.

Recommendations for a participatory process
Below we have outlined recommendations that we believe will ensure that the process, despite its inauspicious beginnings, could be truly participatory.

• The letter and spirit of the GPA is packed with rhetoric about gender equality but in deed the power-sharing government has been found lacking. We therefore request meaningful participation by women, and not just any women. Women who are known to engage and consult and represent our issues, in all constitutional processes. This includes members of subcommittees, be they technical; related to drafting; consulting or logistics. In addition the public face of the consultative process must be gender balanced. There should be equal amounts of women chairing and presenting in all meetings.
• Special sessions for women only should be provided for as women have long been marginalized in Zimbabwean society. They have a unique contribution to make to dignify our nation.
• The youth are now a stolen generation, devoid of hope and opportunity. We also recommend that special sessions for under-25 year olds be convened. Having their own sessions will boost their confidence that they also have a place in rebuilding the nation.
• There needs to be a transparent process in the selection of civic society representatives in the subcommittees. We need committee members with clear roles and responsibilities. They should also be people with a clear understanding of constitutional issues rather than being politically loyal. We would be well represented by those who have constituencies. Committee members must be accountable to their constituencies and hold consultative and report back meetings to make the process truly participatory.
• We want freedom of expression and freedom after expression. To ensure this right is respected, police, both uniformed and non-uniformed, must undergo training on issues of public order so that they do not interfere in our right to meet and debate. Any officer who is unable to be professional and respect civil rights must be dismissed. See GPA Article 12.1(b) – Freedoms of Assembly and Association4 and Article 13.2(a) – State organs and institutions.5
• Mobilisation needs to be all-inclusive and so broad communication is essential. Public hearings and consultations with public must be advertised well in advance not only on television and in print media but also by alternative media so that all communities are advised and can participate.
  For the process to be as inclusive as possible we would like to see the select committee promoting the need for, and accepting, written submissions from both individuals and organisations, from within Zimbabwe and without. We recommend numerous acceptance points for such submissions, for example email, text messages or suggestion boxes. More weight should be attached to identified submissions rather than anonymous contributions but we these communication tools would nonetheless have been used to stimulated debate.
• With the manipulation of information being the issue that derailed previous attempts at constitutional reform, we therefore suggest that: the process of compiling opinions obtained during public consultation be transparent and include checks to prevent suppression of “unwanted” views. A summary of views should be published before the drafting of constitution is done.
• It is said the devil is in the detail. We require that there be civic society representatives within the drafting sub-committee. They will participate in conducting a complementary recording and drafting role.
• To mobilise Zimbabweans to keep control of the process, a ‘Draft Monitoring and Observer Working Group’ should be formed to provide civilian oversight and real-time reporting on content obtained from meetings. They will also provide early warning that the process or content is being hijacked. This Working Group will post reports on the website for historical proof of contributions. Should the process become a victim of the hidden hand of political expediency, proof will be available to mobilise a NO vote.
• WOZA wish to receive an invitation to attend the all stakeholders’ conferences. We also require the opportunity to input into planning of objectives, agenda and format. We want to see an acceptable process for the stakeholders’ conferences, by which the agenda is not controlled by the select committee.
• It is vital that the draft constitution be made available well before the second stakeholder’s conference so that we are able to audit it to see if all views are considered and how it compares to the published summaries.
• At the second stakeholders conference we will expect a report by the drafting subcommittee explaining why they have chosen specific formulations over others. This is to ensure the committee can be accountable for consideration of all views.
• It is a given that a draft will be prepared from public input. Parliament must not amend the draft; rather debate it for clarification of certain aspects. Should Parliament wish to alter some formats or contributions, they must be required to come back to the all stakeholders’ conference to present their views for ratification by the stakeholders.
• The Independent Electoral Commission should be replaced by a genuinely independent commission to restore confidence in voting procedures. We expect the referendum to be conducted by an outside neutral body with independent expertise, as it is important to avoid further poll disputes.
• Zimbabweans have long been marginalized by not being issued with documentation. The power-sharing government must make a special effort to redress this injustice. In the meanwhile, every citizen under the Amendment 19 criteria should be allowed to vote in the referendum with either their identity document or passport, without drawing up a new voters roll. In addition, Zimbabweans in the Diaspora should be allowed to vote so they feel included in the future of their country.
• The power-sharing government must take cognisance of our impatience to exercise our full democratic rights under a new constitution. We therefore demand clear timelines as to the next election following the referendum process as both the GPA and Amendment 19 is silent on this timeline. We do not expect any timelines to be shifted by more than two months.

Conclusion
As stated above, WOZA is fully committed to participating in the constitution-making process that has been initiated by the GPA. Nonetheless, we have serious reservations about the procedures as outlined in Article 6 as we do not believe that they are inclusive enough. We also recognise that these procedures are predisposed to excessive control by politicians. Whilst we are prepared to give members of our new government the benefit of the doubt, we are aware that Zimbabweans have been badly let down by politicians in the past. Together with our partners in civic society, we do not intend to sit back and quietly allow them to minimise the participation of the very people in whose name they claim to be writing the constitution.

We have clearly outlined recommendations above that we feel are minimum requirements for WOZA’s participation. We are determined to advocate for the implementation of these recommendations at every given opportunity and reserve the right to review the nature of our participation should the environment become untenable.

News Update – 6pm

The 174 members arrested in Bulawayo on Tuesday were finally released at 5 pm without appearing in court. Police ran out of delaying tactics when lawyers made ready a High Court application. The members were arrested on 13 February as they conducted a peaceful Valentines Day protest. As members were arrest in one protest another sprung up elsewhere – police officers confirmed arresting people at five different locations in the city where protests had sprung up.

Late yesterday, it had been understood that only seven would be charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and that the rest would be released, Police made an about turn and only released mothers with babies and minors, leaving 141 in custody for a second night.

Today as lawyers attending prepared to go to Court, the investigating officers indicated they had had ‘orders’ to charge everyone and take them to court. This meant preparing warned and cautioned statements from everyone. This process of course meant the 48-hour deadline, up at midday, was exceeded by several hours.

Finally at 5 pm today, the group was finally released – five hours after their 48-hour deadline had passed. The Prosecutor advised Law and Order officers to proceed by way of summons. Another factor is that once again no police officer is willing to write the necessary affidavit to allow evidence necessary to charge the activist.

However whilst we recognize that it is positive step for them to refuse to be used to convict innocent people, we appeal to police officers to help ‘ name and shame’ the senior police officer who shouted at Riot police not to dialogue with the activists at the scene but gave the order for the peaceful women and men to be beaten. We also deplore the manner in which those arrested were beaten as they ascended the staircase into the law and order department of Bulawayo Central. Those who had sustained injuries due to beatings on arrest and in custody have been taken to receive medical treatment.

It appears that the group has been charged under Section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with Section 2(v) of the schedule to the Criminal Code – ‘employs any means whatsoever which are likely materially to interfere with the ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the public or any section of the public, or does any act which is likely to create a nuisance or obstruction’.

This morning, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) located Magodonga Mahlangu at Sauerstown Police Station. Monitors were dispatched to ensure she was not abducted and their presence ensured she was moved with the rest of the group to Bulawayo Central. She has been released and is also receiving medical treatment for the beatings that she received upon arrest.

The petty nastiness of the Zimbabwe Republic Police was again evident today. Having informed those on support yesterday that the breakfast feeding time had been changed to 5am, volunteers were mobilised to provide food at 5am but were kept waiting until 7am, the normal feeding time. A woman at Queens Park was consistently denied her ARV medication. Reports have also come in that several members were forced to eat the paper placards that they had been carrying during the demonstration – some of these read, ‘love can bring a brighter day’ and ‘From WOZA with love’. Despite the inability of some officers to choose love over hate, WOZA would like to salute those officers who did treat our members with respect and professionalism and who recognized that WOZA is fighting for a better future for ALL Zimbabweans.

Woza Moya!

41 years ago, Robert Kennedy said “Peace and justice and compassion towards those who suffer.  That’s what the United States should stand for, and that’s why I’m running for President of the United States.”

Robert Kennedy dreamed things that never were and 4 decades later, we are blessed to have a “why not ” president.  Why not stop torture?  Why not bring troops home from Iraq? Why not close Guantanamo?  Why not restore the standing of the United States as the Beacon on the Hill for Human Rights.   Mr. President and First Lady Michelle Obama, thank you for welcoming us to your home and for using the torch that was passed, to light the fire and spread the audacity of hope for justice and freedom across the world.

Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the 26th annual RFK Human Rights Award Ceremony.  The Tour de force behind the RFK Center is now and has always been Ethel Kennedy.

I’d like to thank the many people who made today possible.  Thank you to the members of the Kennedy Family, Phil Johnston and our board of directors, the  RFK human rights Award judges, RFK leadership council members, Lynn Delaney, Monika Kalra Varma, John Heffernan and the RFK Staff,  Dean Rudoy and Tom and Lori Macpherson for underwriting the Awards, and all our donors and supporters gathered here today.  Thank you to the Members of the diplomatic community, Members of Congress and the many friends who are our colleagues in the field who join us today.

And a special thanks to our  past RFK human rights award laureates, heroes one and all, with whom we have the honor to work on ending farm worker slavery, establishing the rights to health care, food and water, stopping ethnic cleansing, and more.  Lucas Benitez, Stephen Bradberry, Delphine Djiriabe, Loune Viaud, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, and Dr. Doan Viet Hoat.

Robert Kennedy understood that he had a role to play as Attorney General, bringing the force of law to the civil rights struggle, but he also understood that he could only succeed if he partnered with Martin Luther King Jr., Marian Wright Edelman, John Lewis and the civil rights defenders at the cutting edge of social change on the ground in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and beyond.

So today, The RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights defends heroes who are the champions of justice… the Martin Luther King’s and Cesar Chavez’s of their countries.  People who face imprisonment, torture and death in the quest for protection of human rights.  We partner with them for a six year period and provide capacity building, strategic advocacy and alliance opportunities to help achieve laureates’ social justice goals. Through Speak Truth to Power, we tell their stories, we educate students and the general public alike about our laureates work, and we give students a tool kit for action so they can create change in their classrooms, communities, countries and our shared world.

The worst form of abuse, say survivors of torture, is not the beatings and the cattle prods, but the taunt by wardens that you are alone.  Forgotten.  No one cares.  This year’s RFK human rights award laureates have been collectively tortured too often to remember and imprisoned more than one hundred times.

So, Magodonga and Jenni, I want you to know, that, from this day forward, you will never be alone.  Today is the beginning of a long term partnership.  Look around this room.  No matter what the bullies do, we will stand with you, shoulder to shoulder in your struggle for women’s rights, peace and justice.

There’s one gaping hole in this evening’s picture perfect program and that’s the annual speech by Uncle Teddy.  He served on the RFK Board since its inception in 1968, and spoke at nearly every RFK human rights award ceremony.

Last night I came across a letter Teddy wrote to me forty years ago today, dated November 23, 1969, in which he wrote about daddy talking about grandpa.  It reads, “Your father’s words ‘he called forth the best that was in all of us’ is something you should always remember.  Although grandpa is no longer with us, we shall never forget his love for all of us. Love, Ted.”

Teddy called forth the best in all of us and we miss his love, his leadership, his laughter.  He was a true hero for human rights.

Please watch the video tape.

Closing Remarks

Thank you Magodonga and Jenni, for your work, and for showing us what the human spirit is capable of achieving, even under the worst of circumstances

For the past thirty years, the people of Zimbabwe have suffered under the relentless tyranny of Robert Mugabe.  15 % of adults in Zimbabwe have HIV/AIDS.  Maybe 1 in 10 kids will not see their 10th birthday. Few will ever drink a clean glass of water, and inflation has surpassed all other nations at a rate of over 80 sextillion – that is 10 to the 21st power.

The damning facts go on and on. And the people who suffer most under Mugabe’s oppression, are predictably, the women.

When the cupboard is bare, the mother can see it in the tears of her children and hear it in her baby’s cries. When the tap is turned off or the river runs dry, it is the woman who must walk the extra mile to haul the bucket of water.  When the teachers aren’t paid and the schools close, it’s the mother who is left to tend to her kids, complete her chores, and worry about how her children will be educated.

In the face of this misery, WOZA members approach their activism from the unique perspective of being a woman in Zimbabwe.  This is not about their physical attributes, but their role in society.  Like women across the world, WOZA members are mothers, sisters, daughters, wives-people who identify themselves largely by their relationship to other people.  And they are bound together by the responsibility they feel, responsibility born of the love they share with others.  This collective concern is the strongest root system for a flourishing democracy.

It is in this context that WOZA was formed.   This is a group of 75,000 women.  They do not communicate by email or cell phone or text.  They communicate solely by word of mouth. And then thousands of them they take to the streets, where they are met by the batons of the riot police.

They are battered, still they demand  food and water, and they hand out roses. They are beaten.  Still they demand medical care and education and speak about non violence. They are brutalized.  Still they demand democracy. And talk about compassion. They are raped. Still they demand an end to violence against women. And act with love.

And after they are finally released from days, weeks, months in prison, they talk with one another, hold meetings, go onto the streets, and do it again – for their daughters and sisters, for their fathers and sons, for their families, their communities, for the country they love.

The women of Zimbabwe are doing their job.  It is time for the rest of the world to do our job as well. To start, the RFK Center will urge our friends here today from the Southern African Development Community to hold Mugabe and all political leaders accountable for violations of the Global Political Agreement, which is the power sharing deal negotiated last year, now largely violated with total impunity by Mugabe and other forces.  As of today, the RFK Center and all of us in this room are watching and galvanizing support for the women of WOZA.  We will investigate, advocate and educate on the issues WOZA confronts.  We will stand with the women of WOZA as they speak truth to power.

Robert Kennedy implored us to tame the savageness of man, and make gentle the life of the world.  Today, Magodonga, Jenni, and the women of WOZA are taming the savageness of men.  And, as they make gentle the life of Zimbabwe, they make gentle the life of the world.

I would like to end with these lines which capture the spirit of WOZA, written by the most famous woman poet. Anonymous:

Today is ours, Lets take it
And love is strong, Lets give it
A song can help, Lets sing it
And peace is dear, Lets bring it
The past is gone, Don’t rue it
Our work is here, Let’s do it!
The world is wrong, Lets right it
The battle is hard, Lets fight it
The road is rough, Lets clear it!
The future vast, Don’t fear it!
 Is faith asleep, Lets wake it!
Today is ours, Lets take it.

Bulawayo
131 members remain in custody in Bulawayo for a second night. The 36 released into the custody of their lawyers once again have been allowed to return to their homes having spent the day at Bulawayo Central. Initial reports from one lawyer indicated that there were 274 in custody but the figure from another lawyer was 174 members that were arrested. This figure includes 17 juveniles, 20 mothers with babies and three pregnant women.

Only seven of the group are being charged under Chapter 37, Section (2) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ‘participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry is committed whether the action constituting it is spontaneous or planned in advance, and whether the place or meeting where it occurred is public or private.’ These seven being the only ones that arresting officers were prepared to come forward to testify against. The rest of the group, including Magodonga Mahlangu, are not being charged and at 4 pm today, police dealing with the case agreed that they should be released. The head of the Law and Order Section at Bulawayo Central, G Ndlovu, refused to allow them to go home tonight however, insisting that they only be released in the morning after the seven had appeared in court – the lives of 124 people made miserable by the petty whim of one individual.

Magodonga Mahlangu remains isolated from the rest of the group as Law and Order officers have resisted attempts to have her moved back to join others, arguing that as a leader of WOZA, Mahlangu ‘deserves the dignity of having a cell to herself’ – having an entire police station to herself does seem a little excessive however! Concerns for her safety continue whilst she remains in solitary confinement.

Members in Queens Park are still being denied medication – please call Queens Park Station on +263 9 22641/2 to demand that those taking ARV treatment be allowed to take their medication.

Harare
The eight women arrested in Harare yesterday and held at Harare Central overnight are out of custody having paid admission of guilt fines early this evening. The women complained of terrible and inhumane conditions in the cells and having been beaten in custody. Attempts are still being made to ascertain exactly what happened in Harare Central and more information will be given when it becomes available.

Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Everybody have a seat. What a wonderful evening.  Before I begin, let me just acknowledge some folks here in the crowd.  First of all, Ms. Kerry Kennedy, for the great work that she’s doing day in and day out.  Mr. Philip Johnston, thank you to both of you for helping to organize this tonight.  Obviously I’ve got to say thanks to my favorite people — Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, also known as Ethel Kennedy. To Representative Donald Payne, Representative Gregory Meeks, and Representative Edward Markey, who are all here — thank you for your attendance and your support of this important award.

You know, every year for 24 years, starting the year this award was established, my friend, Senator Edward — Ted — Kennedy, spoke at this event.  And I’m told that he looked forward to it all year — that he relished the chance to shine a bright light on an injustice and on those fighting it, and to support them in that fight.  He also enjoyed a family reunion.  He relished the chance to pay tribute to those carrying on the unfinished work of his brother’s life — work that for nearly half a century in the U.S. Senate he made his own.

He was pleased that this award honored men and women across the globe doing a wide range of urgent work — fighting to end apartheid, advance democracy, empower minorities and indigenous peoples, promote free speech and elections and more.  Because Ted understood that Bobby’s legacy wasn’t a devotion to one particular cause, or a faith in a certain ideology — but rather, it was a sensibility.  A belief that in this world, there is right and there is wrong, and it is our job to build our laws and our lives around recognizing the difference.

A sensitivity to injustice so acute that it can’t be relieved by the rationalizations that make life comfortable for the rest of us — that others’ suffering is not our problem, that the ills of the world are somehow not our concern.

A moral orientation that renders certain people constitutionally incapable of remaining a bystander in the face of evil — a sensibility that recognizes the power of all people, however humble their circumstances, to change the course of history.

Those are the traits of Bobby Kennedy that this award recognizes — the very traits that define the character and guide the life of this year’s recipient.  And while we feel a certain sadness that Senator Kennedy is not with us to honor her, let us also take pleasure tonight in knowing just how much he would have loved and admired Magodonga Mahlangu and the organization that she helps lead — WOZA, which stands for Women of Zimbabwe Arise, and is represented tonight by one of its founders, Jenni Williams. As a young girl raised in Matabeleland — in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, Magodonga witnessed the — I’ve got to make sure I get this right — Gukurahundi massacres — the systematic murder of many thousands of people, including her uncle and several cousins — many of whom were buried in mass graves that they’d been forced to dig themselves.

She witnessed the fearful silence that followed, as talking about these events was forbidden.  Magodonga found this to be intolerable.  She wanted to speak out — she wanted people to know the truth about what was happening in her country.

So it was a revelation when, years later, she discovered a group called WOZA whose mission is the very opposite of silence.  WOZA was started back in 2003 to empower women to speak out about the issues affecting their families and their country — desperate hunger; crumbling health and education systems; domestic violence and rape; and government repression ranging from restrictions on free expression to abduction and murder of dissidents.

WOZA’s guiding principle is “tough love” — the idea that political leaders in Zimbabwe could use a little discipline.  And who better to provide that than the nation’s mothers?  Since its founding, the organization has grown from a handful of activists to a movement of 75,000 strong.  There’s even a men’s branch, I understand — MOZA.  And over the past seven years, they have conducted more than a hundred protests — maids and hairdressers, vegetable sellers and seamstresses, taking to the streets; singing and dancing; banging on pots empty of food and brandishing brooms to express their wish to sweep the government clean.

They often don’t get far before being confronted by President Mugabe’s riot police.  They have been gassed, abducted, threatened with guns, and badly beaten — forced to count out loud as each blow was administered.  Three thousand WOZA members have spent time in custody or in prison, sometimes dragged with their babies into cells.  Magodonga and Jenni are due back in court on December 7th, charged with “conduct likely to cause a breach of [the] peace.”  They face a five year sentence if convicted.

That so many women have decided to risk and endure so much is in many ways a testament to the extraordinary example of tonight’s honoree.

Each time they see Magodonga beaten back — beaten black and blue during one protest, only to get right back up and lead another — singing freedom songs at the top of her lungs in full view of security forces — the threat of a policeman’s baton loses some of its power.

Each time her house is searched, or her life is threatened, or she’s once again arrested — more than 30 times so far — she continues to stand in public and inspire the people of Zimbabwe — the power of the state then seems a little less absolute.

Each time she has emerged from incarceration after enduring deplorable conditions and brutal abuse — and gone right back to work — the prospect of prison loses some of its capacity to deter.

By her example, Magodonga has shown the women of WOZA and the people of Zimbabwe that they can undermine their oppressors’ power with their own power — that they can sap a dictator’s strength with their own.  Her courage has inspired others to summon theirs.  And the organization’s name, WOZA — which means “come forward” — has become its impact — its impact has been even more as people know of the violence that they face, and more people have come forward to join them.

More people have come to realize what Magodonga and the women of WOZA have known all along:  that the only real way to teach love and non-violence is by example.  Even when that means sitting down while being arrested, both as a sign that they refuse to retaliate, absorbing each blow without striking back — and a warning that, come what may, they’re not going anywhere.

They even manage to show love to those who imprison them.  As Jenni put it, “Many a time we have in effect conducted a ‘workshop’ for our jailers, acting out the role of a mother and teaching how the country can be rebuilt if we have love in our hearts.” When asked how they can endure so much violence — and what keeps them going in the face of such overwhelming odds — the women of WOZA reply, simply:  “each other.”

And that may be Magodonga’s greatest achievement — that she has given the women of Zimbabwe each other.  That she has given people who long for peace and justice each other.  That she has given them a voice they can only have collectively — and a strength that they can only have together.

They are a force to be reckoned with.  Because history tells us, truth has a life of its own once it’s told.  Love can transform a nation once it’s taught.  Courage can be contagious; righteousness can spread; and there is much wisdom in the old proverb:  that God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.

In the end, history has a clear direction — and it is not the way of those who arrest women and babies for singing in the streets.  It’s not the way of those who starve and silence their own people, and cling to power by threat of force.

It is the way of the maid walking home in Montgomery; the young woman marching silently in the streets of Tehran; the leader imprisoned in her own home for her commitment to democracy.

It is the way of young people in Cape Town who braved the wrath of their government to hear a young senator from New York speak about the ripples of hope one righteous act can create.

And it is the way that Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams and the women and men who take to the streets of Harare and Bulawayo and Victoria Falls because they love their country and love their children and know that something better is possible.

Bobby Kennedy once said, “All great questions must be raised by great voices, and the greatest voice is the voice of the people — speaking out — in prose, or painting or poetry or music; speaking out — in homes and halls, streets and farms, courts and cafes — let that voice speak and the stillness you hear will be the gratitude of mankind.”

Magodonga and WOZA have given so many of their fellow citizens of Zimbabwe that voice — and tonight, we express our gratitude for their work.

It is now my pleasure to join with Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy to present the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA.  (Applause.)

Dr. Agostinho Zacarias
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Ms Agnes Asekongye Oonyu
United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Dear Dr Zacarias and Madam Asekongye Oonyu,

Re: The People’s Charter – a blueprint for a better Zimbabwe

The women and men of WOZA have initiated a non-violent campaign with the aim of mobilising Zimbabweans to demand social justice from their leaders. The time has come to put the past behind us and start building a better tomorrow. We plan to hold existing leaders accountable and mobilise people to demand leaders who will deliver all aspects of social justice and a genuinely people-driven constitution. We need help from international friends however and this is why we are approaching you.

Our resolution was made after an eleven-month, nationwide consultation process. During 2006, over 284 meetings, consulting almost 10,000 rural and urban people on social justice were conducted. The people spoke clearly about what they want in a new Zimbabwe and their contributions formed the People’s Charter, which is attached below.

As Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) take to the streets of Bulawayo and Harare today to mark WOZA’s fifth Valentine’s Campaign, they will be marching with the theme ‘The People’s Charter – giving you a better life, a better Zimbabwe’.

In Harare, the protest is starting outside the offices of the UNDP. In WOZA’s first Valentine’s campaign in 2003, then Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, was chosen as WOZA’s ‘valentine’ and a petition delivered to the UNDP at the start of the demonstration. It was decided that it was therefore fitting to go back to where it all began in this, WOZA’s fifth year.

Five years later as we march in our Valentines Day procession, Zimbabwe is in even worse a position than what originally drove the women of this country to take a stand against the deteriorating situation in their homeland. We therefore ask that you consider this Charter to be a plea to the United Nations from the people of Zimbabwe. It is what the people want for their future – it is what we believe can bring a better Zimbabwe. We ask that you consider the Charter as the voices of ordinary Zimbabweans asking your organization to use whatever influence it can to bring about the socially just future we all desire.

Please open up your heart and read it sincerely knowing that it contains the dreams and desires of a heartbroken nation.

Yours faithfully,

Members and supporters of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise

Bulawayo
Lawyers were finally allowed access again last night and were allowed to negotiate the release of 36 members into their custody. These included the mothers with babies, juveniles, pregnant women and one badly injured woman who was taken to receive medical attention. They have all reported back to Bulawayo Central this morning. The group was also split between 7 stations – these are Bulawayo Central, Mzilikazi, Donnington, Hillside, Nkulumane, Queens Park and Sauerstown.

Law and Order officers were also overheard briefing each other about a visit to Bulawayo Central by members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). They were requesting that Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu be allowed to be abducted from police custody during the night and killed. Law and Order officers apparently replied that the two were not in custody. Jenni Williams had been in the Harare protest but had not been arrested. Magodonga Mahlangu was arrested in the Bulawayo protest, separated from the rest of the group and taken to Sauerstown Police Station. WOZA activists spent the night monitoring Sauerstown to ensure that no foul play occurred and are pleased to report that no attempts were made on her life. There remains concern for her safety however and lawyers are attempting to have her returned to the others.

Currently lawyers are in attendance in Bulawayo and warned and cautioned statements are being prepared. The group is being charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 37, Section (2) – ‘participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry is committed whether the action constituting it is spontaneous or planned in advance, and whether the place or meeting where it occurred is public or private.’

Further investigation of the alleged torture has revealed that one youth, who was arrested for continuing to hand out roses after the demonstration had been broken up, was badly beaten in custody. He remains in custody without medical attention, as do several others who were beaten during their arrest. It also turns out that several members were picked up after the main arrests had occurred as they continued to hand out roses and Valentine cards to members of the public.

This morning when food was being brought to those arrested, officers at Mzilikazi Police Station refused to allow one woman on anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment to take her medication and at Queens Park, they were refusing to allow any medication, including ARV’s, to be taken without a clinic card being produced to prove that they had a legitimate medical reason to take the medication. Breakfast was also denied to those at Nkulumane Station as the group of 11 had been moved from Hillside Station during the night and their absence from Hillside was only discovered this morning. The support team located them at Nkulumane 30 minutes after their breakfast feeding time ended and that delay was sufficient to have food denied.

It also appears that the power of love has those that love power seriously concerned as two water cannons were evidence in Bulawayo yesterday to deal with WOZA’s love marchers.

Harare
Police have not as yet allocated an investigating officer and told lawyers that they should come back after lunch.

You can contact the police stations on the following numbers:

• Bulawayo Central: (+263 9) 72515 / 61706
• Mzilikazi: (+263 9) 202908 / 212905
• Nkulumane: (+263 9) 476755 / 467039
• Queens Park: (+263 9) 22641/2
• Sauerstown: (+263 9) 200960 / 218432
• Hillside: (+263 9) 241161/2
• Donnington: (+263 9) 474005 / 467309
• Harare Central: (+263 4) 77 77 77

WATCH OUT FOR WOZA ON VALENTINE’S DAY 2006 WE ARE MARCHING FOR BREAD AND ROSES!
We want more than day to day survival – we deserve roses and the dignity they stand for. This year’s theme is inspired by the `Bread and Roses` strike led and won by American women textile workers in 1912. For women in 2006 the bread stands for the need for affordable food and the roses represent the need to be dignified and the call for social justice.

WOZA IZATSHENGISELA IFUNA IZINKWA LAMALUBA!
Sikhathele ukuphilela usuku ngosuku – sifuna ukuzotha okumelwe ngamaluba.

WOZA IRIKURATIDZIRA NEZVECHINGWA NEMARUWA!
Tinoda zvinopfuura kurarama kwepazuwa nepazuva – tinokodzerawo maruwa nerukudzo.

Twelfth January 1912 was the anniversary of the start of the Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, United States; one of the most important struggles in the history of the U.S. working class. A new law had reduced the working week and cut the average wage – the last straw for workers living on the edge of starvation. Thousands of women and men started a spontaneous strike that rippled through two dozen textile factories. Some 23,000 people left the mills and poured into the streets. The Lawrence strike was different in two ways: women led it and there was an effort to unite workers of all nationalities around four demands: a 15-percent wage increase, a 54- hour work week, double pay for overtime and the rehiring of all strikers without discrimination. The workers also saw the strike as part of a broader struggle – they wanted to fight for social justice; dignity as well as basic needs.

Police threw the women in jail but they refused to pay the fines. As soon as they were released they returned to protest. One lawyer commented, “One policeman can handle 10 men, while it takes 10 police to handle one woman.” The strike went on for over two months. Children were starving and had to be sent to nearby towns. When they tried to leave, police responded by attacking women and children, forcing the children to stay. That was the turning point. An international outcry forced the government to investigate, putting more pressure on the bosses.

Finally on March 14, the strikers won a 25-percent increase, pay for overtime and no discrimination against strikers. This strike had shown that low-paid, oppressed workers of diverse nationalities could unite and organise a powerful struggle against ill-treatment. It stands as a shining example of how to build unity with women in the lead. One reporter wrote of the Lawrence strike: “It was the spirit of the workers that seemed dangerous. They were always marching and singing. The strikers not only wanted decent pay, but also a chance to enjoy the good things of life. They carried signs saying, “We want bread and roses too!”

And they sang: “As we go marching, marching, we battle too for men, for they are women’s children, and we mother them again. Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes; hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.”

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Omama labobaba kweleAmerica batshengisela mhlaka 12 Zibandlela 1912. Babetshengisela befuna izinkwa lamaluba, ngoba umthetho omutsha usuqume amalanga okusebenza njalo usuyehlise iholo lokhu kwenza izisebenzi ezazivele zilamba zithwale nzima. Kwatshengisela omama labobaba abayi 23 000, kwavalwa amafemu amanengi. Ukutshengesela lokhu kwakukhokhelwa ngomama ababefuna into ezine: ukukhwezelwa kweholo nge15%, ukusebenza amahola ayi54 ngeviki; ukuhola okuphindwe kabili nxa bengazebenza amahola edlulisileyo; lokuthi labo ababexotshiwe betshengisela babiselwe emsebenzini kungela bandlululo. Izisebenzi zabona ukutshengisela kuyingxenye yokulwela ukuzikhulula. Babefuna ukulwela inhlalakahle, ukuzotha, lokuthola okufaneleyo impilweni. Amapholisa abajikela omama laba emajele kodwa bala ukuhlawula imali yokuthi bonile. Besanda kukhululwa babuyela bayatshengisela. Omunye ugqhwetha wathi “Ipholisa elilodwa lingabopha amadoda alitshumi kodwa kuthatha amapholisa alitshumi ukubopha umama oyedwa.”

Mhlaka 14 Mbimbitho, abatshengiseli banqoba, iholo lakhwezwa nge25%, bathola ukuhlawulwa amahola adlulisileyo, ababexotshiwe babiselwa emsebenzini. Ukutshengisela kwezisebenzi ezihola iholo elincane njalo zincindezelwe zivela kuzizwe ezehlukeneyo zingabambana, ziqoqane ziyenze ukutshengisela okukhulu. Intathelizindaba yabhala yathi, “Ukuzinikela kwezisebenzi kwesabisa….. babehlabela behamba. Ababetshengisela babengafuni iholo elithuthukileyo kuphela babefuna into ezithokozisa impilo. Babethwele imbiko ethi ‘Sifuna izinkwa lamaluba futhi!” Babehlabela besithi, “Sitshengisela nje sitshengiselela labobaba, ngoba bayinzalo yabomama, njalo singomama babo. Impilo yethu ayisoze ibengeyezithukuthuku kusukela sizalwa size sife; inhliziyo ziyalamba kanye lemizimba ngakho ke lisinike izinkwa, kodwa lisinike lamaluba.

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Musi wa 12 Ndira 1912 vakadzi nevarume vekuAmerica vakaratidzira. Chiratidzo ichi chainzi Chingwa neMaruva. Mutemo mutsva wakanga waderedza basa revhiki zvichiita kuti vaomerwe neupenyu. Zviuru zviviri nenhatu zvemepfumbamwe zvevanhukadzi nevanhurume vakaratidzira vachivhara mafekitari. Kuratidzira uku kwaitungamirirwa nevanhukadzi vaive nezvinangwa zvina: kuwedzerwa kwemari inopiwa vashandi nechikamu chinoita gumi nechishanu kubva muzana, ma hour makumi mashanu nemana ekushanda pavhiki, kupiwa mubhadharo wakapetwa kaviri kana vakapfuura nguva yakatarwa yekushanda uye kudzokera kwevaratidzira kumabasa pasina rusaruro. Asi vashandi vakaonazve kuratidzira uku sechidimbu cherusununguko rwakakura – vaida kurwira magariro akarurama anemutsigo uye kuwana zvakakodzerana neupenyu. Mapurisa akasunga vakadzi ava asi vakaramba kubhadhara Mari yeusungwa. Vachingobudiswa mujere vakadzokera kunoratidzira zvekare. Rimwe gweta rakati “mupurisa mumwe anochengetedza varume gumi asi zvinoda mapurisa gumi kuchengetedza mukadzi mumwe.” Kuratidzira uku kwakaenderera mberi kwemwedzi miviri.

Pakupedzisira musi wa 14 Kukadzi varatidziri ava vakawana kukwidzwa kwemari inopiwa vashandi nezvikamu zviviri nechishanu kubva muzana, kushanda kupfuura nguva dzakatarwa uye varatidziri vachidzoka kumabasa. Kuratidzira uku kwakataridza kuti vashandi vanobhadharwa mari shoma, vakadzvanyirirwa vendudzi dzose vanokwanisa kubatana, kurongeka, uye kuratidzira hondo yakasimba. Mumwe mutori wenhau akati, “Wanga uri mweya wevashandi wanga uchityisa…vaigara vachifamba nekuimba. Varatidziri vaisada muhoro wakawanda chete asi vaida neupenyu wakanaka. Vaitakura mifananidzo yakanyorwa kunzi ‘tinoda chingwa nemaruva zvekare.’” Uye vaiimba kuti, “Patinofamba, patinofamba, tonorwirawo vanhurume zvekare, nekuti vana vevanhukadzi uye tinovachengetawo. Upenyu hwedu haucharwadzi kurarama dakara tafa, moyo uchiomerwa semuviri, tipei chingwa nemaruva!”

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Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) hosted an initial consultation on the subject of Social Justice, two hundred delegates from WOZA, other civic organisations, and two Zambian activists attended.

Consultation Objectives

• to bring the national discourse back to the issues that concern ordinary people, giving them back the initiative
• refocus attention on the basic and fundamental rights that belong to us all
• ensure that the voices of grass-roots communities are consulted and heard
• construct a new agenda of social justice around which we can all mobilise for action
• create and raise expectations of people as to what political leaders should deliver and how to hold them accountable

Initial consultation overview

Social justice can be defined as a system where people have equal opportunities/access to social, economic, cultural, religious and political needs regardless of race, gender, creed or any other form of discrimination.

It can be the way we interact with others and a method of governance which includes the following:

• Full enjoyment of all social, political, economic and cultural rights
• An equal society including gender equality
• Respect for human rights including women’s and children’s rights
• Freedoms including speech, assembly and association
• Respect and tolerance of diversity – culture and religion
• Transparency and accountability
• Equal participation in political and economic decision-making
• Equal application of the law – access to justice and understanding of the law
• Correction of past injustices such as Gukurahundi and Murambatsvina
• Gutsaruzhinji/inhlalakahle yabantu (Good living)
• Access to affordable education
• Adequate and affordable food
• Access to affordable housing, electricity, sanitation and clean water
• Access to affordable healthcare and medication including anti-retrovirals (ARVs)
• Equal and fair access to fertile land, inputs, equipment and secure ownership
• Equal opportunities to resources, employment, self-help projects and the right to earn a living wage
• Development of adequate infrastructure and access to affordable transport
• Environmentally sustainable usage of resources

The consultation process continues – we would like your opinion on how we can make Zimbabwe a socially just nation. Email us at wozazimbabwe@yahoo.com or write to us. Join us in the street to see how your dreams can become possibilities…

Good evening Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, members of Congress and the diplomatic corps, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great honour to be standing here accepting this award tonight and I thank you. The accolade of winning the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award should be a cause for great celebration. Yet, I find that even as I stand here, humbled and grateful, for the recognition, I find little to celebrate.

The Global Political Agreement signed in September of last year should also have been a cause for celebration. This agreement brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was to be a foundation for dialogue and cooperation between political parties.  A year later, however, we find ourselves in a situation of great uncertainty and violence.

Human rights defenders continue to be targeted for arbitrary arrest, harassment, torture and abduction by state agents.  Oppressive laws designed to silence democratic voices are still in place and still being used against us. My colleague, Jenni Williams, and I return to court on 7 December, facing charges of disturbing the peace for saying that people need food aid. We are facing five years in prison.

This harassment is also visited upon ordinary citizens. A badly paid police force routinely solicits bribes from people going about their business. Innocent people are arrested for loitering and vendors often have their goods looted for the personal use of police.

The economy has also not recovered enough to bring relief to the average household. We see food on supermarket shelves, but we cannot eat with our eyes. Unemployment remains at close to 95%, and with informal trade criminalised, most people remain locked in a daily struggle to feed themselves and their families.

The healthcare and education systems remain in crisis. While some schools have reopened, more and more children are dropping out as parents continue with the daily struggle to decide whether to put food on the table for the day or send a child to school for a week. Child-headed households are also becoming increasingly prevalent as HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, stress and a collapsed healthcare system combine to hound our people into early graves.  In Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy for a woman is 34 years.

This is the backdrop against which WOZA operates, providing Zimbabweans across political lines with a platform to speak out about their issues. Almost every month for the last seven years, women and men have taken to the streets to demand social justice and hold their leaders accountable through peaceful direct action. Invariably these peaceful protests have led to conflict with the state.

Thousands of my colleagues have faced arrest, torture and abduction – their only crime, wanting a better life for themselves and their families. I myself have been arrested more than 30 times in the last seven years for peaceful actions.  Once, I was even arrested for teaching women how to make lemon jam!

These arrests do not deter us because WOZA has empowered us to believe that we deserve better. We deserve to have a roof over our head, food in our stomachs, our children in schools and the nation working. We deserve to live in dignity and free from fear; and it is our right to have our voices heard and respected. That is why I joined WOZA. While Mugabe boasts of having degrees in violence, I and 75,000 WOZA members who stand beside me, have degrees in non-violence.

Our aim is to uphold universality and nonviolence, for a better life-for ourselves and for our children. The Robert F Kennedy award not only validates WOZA’s work, it amplifies our voices. Your efforts send the message that we are not alone and that the world is watching.

I would like to appeal to my sisters and brothers from Africa, guarantors to the Global Political Agreement (GPA). Since it was signed last September, there have been thousands of violations. We call on SADC and all friends present to ensure that the spirit and the letter of the GPA are fully respected and implemented.

We appeal to you to help us rebuild our healthcare and education systems and ensure that every person has enough to eat. We are not asking you to solve our problems for us. We are asking you to support our choices and help us implement them.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy, “The future is not a gift: it is an achievement. Every generation helps make its own future.” Help us achieve ours.

I thank you.