The Power of Love Conquers the Love of Power: Women of Zimbabwe Challenge Mugabe's Regime

Poster by Zimbabwean dissident artist Chaz Maviyane-Davies, 2000.

On Valentine's Day, 2003, WOZA held its first demonstrations, calling on Zimbabwe to "Learn to love again." Valentine's Day was chosen as a significant date in the WOZA calendar because of the association with love -- love of self, of family, of community and of country.

On that day in Bulawayo, fourteen women and one man were arrested and held in appalling conditions for 24 hours. They were charged under the Public Order Security Act and then released. The Harare protest was conducted outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office. Riot police arrested over 49 members, including a 65-year-old Dominican nun. Only one WOZA member, Jennifer Williams, was charged and all members were released within hours of arrest.

Choose Love Over Hate

In 2004, WOZA took to the streets again, focusing on the theme, "Choose love over hate." The original plan was to march in Bulawayo, Harare, and Victoria Falls. In Victoria Falls, police threatened organizers, who decided to postpone. In Bulawayo, police refused to allow the protest to go ahead and a court application taken by WOZA was never heard in the High Court. In Harare, police told organizers that they would shoot to kill if the women marched. Despite these threats, WOZA marched in four suburban centers in Harare. In Chitungwiza, they marched into the police station and handed over Valentine's Day cards. When police accepted the cards, the march was declared a success.

"The power of love can conquer the love of power" was the message WOZA marched with in 2005. Peaceful protests were successfully conducted in Bulawayo and Harare. In both places, police did not respond during the protest but arrested members as they dispersed. In Bulawayo, 72 women had a hard time in custody. Police tried every dirty trick ñ they hid members away in cupboards to prevent them gaining access to lawyers and harassed them into paying "admission of guilt" fines. In Harare, the few members arrested also paid fines as they too lacked access to their lawyers. The campaign was a very important part of getting Zimbabweans out to vote for the March 2005 Parliamentary Election.

Bread and Roses

In 2006, WOZA called for "Bread and Roses" on Valentine's Day, bread signifying the need for affordable basic commodities and roses signifying the need for dignity and the better things in life. In Bulawayo, 181 men and women and 14 babies were arrested and held for one night before being released. In Harare, 242 women and five babies were arrested and held under terrible conditions for four days. Because of the appalling nature of the conditions and the psychological pressure that the women were subjected to, several women paid admission of guilt fines. Sixty-three defiant souls endured the harsh conditions to be taken to court on day four and be released on free bail. The Valentine 63 were charged under the Miscellaneous Offences Act with "conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace." They were finally acquitted in August 2006 in a trial that lasted seven months with 13 court appearances. The magistrate declared that in his judgment the women had been illegally detained and had been held in inhumane and degrading conditions.

A Charter for Change

This year, two thousand members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) took to the streets of Harare and Bulawayo on February 13 -- a day ahead of Valentine's Day ñ hoping to catch the police napping. The peaceful protests marked WOZA's fifth Valentine's Day procession. Over 274 men and women and 20 babies were arrested in Bulawayo and about 10 women in Harare. The Bulawayo protesters were arrested with life-size images of President Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, and Arthur Mutambara, who were about to be presented with copies of the People's Charter (WOZA's alternative political platform) in a ceremony outside the state-owned Chronicle. In Bulawayo, a heavy police presence indicated that police were expecting WOZA and the protest had to start under the nose of uniformed and plain-clothed police. Riot police swooped in towards the end of the protest at the offices of the Chronicle and brutally beat up members. It is estimated that over 1,000 women and men marched three blocks through Bulawayo handing out Valentine's cards, red roses, and copies of the People's Charter to passersby.

In Harare, the protest started with the handing over of a letter to representatives of the UNDP and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance asking them to assist Zimbabweans in getting political leaders to deliver the People's Charter. The UNDP offices were where the first Valentine's protest took place five years ago when WOZA named then Secretary General, Kofi Annan, as their Valentine.

WOZA activists affixed the life-size images of President Robert Mugabe, and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, to the wall outside Takura House. Copies of the People's Charter were then figuratively "handed over" to them -- symbolizing the need for responsible leaders to deliver social justice.

In prison, 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 would like to dedicate this day to the contribution of Zimbabwean activists to a nonviolent struggle for social justice -- we salute your nonviolent discipline and spirit of love. To the Zimbabwe Republic Police we say -- your children will also one day enjoy the social justice we fight for.

Reflections on Years of Struggle

As WOZA turns five we are saddened to compare the Zimbabwe of five years ago to the Zimbabwe of today and we find that the levels of violence that led us to form a nonviolent movement are back with a vengeance. When we formed WOZA in 2003, politicians were beating each other up, police were beating up activists, and people were afraid for their lives. This pattern continues. Joshua Nkomo (the co-leader, with Mugabe, of resistance to the white-minority government) said, back in 1983, "Today, the people of Zimbabwe live in fear, not of enemies but of their own government."

As we look back upon our footsteps as an organization, we must rededicate ourselves to nonviolent action and to building a spirit of love so that we can finally find the dignity, justice, and peace our hearts beat for. We must also move within our communities preaching about nonviolence as an effective way to bring social justice and equality for all. There is no weapon stronger than that of love and nonviolent direct action by a people determined to be free. To the youth we remind them that when they choose to love, they choose lasting liberation. As violence is the weapon of the weak, when they choose nonviolent direct action, they choose to be brave.

How to Help

1) Donate to Kubatana.net, a network of over 240 NGOs in Zimbabwe. They host a blog that gets the word out about activism in Zimbabwe and helps NGOs use information technology to further their work.

2) Action for Southern Africa, www.actsa.org, initiated the "Dignity! Period." campaign to purchase and distribute sanitary napkins though the Zimbabwe Coalition of Trade Unions. Sanitary pads in Zimbabwe cost women half of the monthly minimum wage (in a country with an unemployment rate over 80% and over 1000% inflation). The site asks for English Pounds, but Visa and Mastercard can be used to donate in dollars.