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Police abuse of women arrested at prayer vigil
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
April 04, 2005

Read personal testimony on harrassment by the police

Ndebele Proverb: Okwethu ngokwezandla ngangokwenyawo ngakuyahamba. It is about the hand (MDC Symbol) but if it were about the feet (Street Action), progress could be made.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise, (WOZA) on Election Day 31 March 2005, organized a prayer vigil at Africa Unity Square in Harare. Over 1000 WOZA members from Bulawayo, Harare and rural representatives were enroute. Riot police descended on the women (20 of whom had babies strapped to their backs), who had already begun to sing and pray. WOZA women aged from 17 to 80 were arrested and detained overnight in an open courtyard at Harare Central Police Station. As the police officers arrested women, they beat them with baton sticks. Over 30 had to be treated and 9 hospitalized for severe beatings to their backs and thighs. Some of the injuries were inflicted when police officers made women lie down on their stomachs and then walked over them with booted feet. The women were released after a night in custody, under armed guard and charge with "Obstruction" under the Miscellaneous Offences Act. This attracts a $ 25 000 fine.

Shortly after proceedings began at 7 pm, police drove into the Square and surrounded the initial group numbering 150 who were seated by the fountain. They proceeded to ignore pleas to allow the vigil to continue and began arresting the women forcing them into the police vehicles. Thereafter from 7 pm to 11 pm, police drove around central Harare picking up groups of women who were still enroute to the venue and those who had sought refuge in the waiting room of the railway station.

As they came upon these groups, police beat the women and trampled them. Most women, including Harare residents, reported that police officers taunted them saying, "Harare is a no go area for you stubborn Bulawayo women. Go back to "Blair's' (Tony Blair Britain's Prime Minister) and MDC's Bulawayo". MDC is the opposition Movement For Democratic Change. Bulawayo is in Matabeleland, a stronghold of the opposition and home to the minority Matabele tribe. Matabeleland is also the birthplace of WOZA, although it has over the past two and a half years become a strong national movement.

The focus of the vigil was to pray for peace during the post election period and to pray for 'divine intervention' to prevent the results being manipulated as reported in the 2000 and 2002 Elections.

To the police who took part in this diabolical treatment of women WOZA say: 'Strike a woman and you struck a rock".

Many of the WOZA women handed themselves in. Some women had to convince a police officer to let them proceed in to the station as he tried to convince them to go away by saying "Things are bad inside, the women are under armed guard. The trio said they wanted to join others no matter what the conditions.

The women of WOZA, through this release would like to ask the first female Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joyce Mujuru to answer these questions:

• Where was she when riot police beat women and trampled them?
• Where was she when they were denied access to food and lawyers?
• Where was she when they had to sleep in an open courtyard?
• Where was she when they were denied access to toilets?

She must show us if she is woman enough to defend women and their human rights of dignity and peaceful assembly. We believe that she must know - In prison or not Zimbabwean women are not free!

We would like to send this message to Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC President:

You asked us to defend our vote but did not say how - here is an Ndebele Proverb to help you - Okwethu ngokwezandla ngangokwenyawo ngakuyahamba. In English this means - It is about the hand (MDC Symbol) but if it were about the feet (Street Action), progress could be made. The choice is now simple - mass action or mass starvation!

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