Women Civil Society Organisations and the Struggle for Social Justice: Interrogating the Experiences of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between women civil society organisations and the government in Zimbabwe using Woman of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) in Bulawayo as case study. WOZA, like other civil society organisations in Zimbabwe, has been increasingly using protests and strikes to confront women and human rights abuses by government. They also employ negotiation techniques as in the case of the Tripartite Negotiation Forum which has been in place since 1997. All these techniques, like several other efforts have been ineffective as evidenced by the increasing gaps in social justice and gender disparities in the country. Respondents claimed that they were raped; exposed to inhuman torture like forcing a bottle into their sexual organ; insulted and called names like whores / prostitutes / beaches; and so on. At organisational level WOZA faced challenges like lack of reliable and sustainable source of funding; violence from government sponsored groups (ZRP, youth, women); and hatred by government authorities who saw the civic organisation as a front for Western imperialists. The paper recommends the establishment of a national policy framework that encourages tolerance and acceptance of diversity; cooperation between men and women in confronting their everyday social and political problems; a partnership model by various stakeholders to solve the socio-economic problems bedeviling the country; among other things.

Keywords: women, civil society, organisations, social justice, experiences, WOZA

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-4-08

Publication date: April 30^th 2019