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Police arrest 100 as women storm Zimbabwe rural business centre
ZimOnline
June 20, 2006

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=14610

Filabusi - Zimbabwean police on Monday arrested about 100 women for marching in a rural town of Filabusi demanding the reinstatement of their children who were expelled from schools after failing to pay fees. The demonstration, the first to be organised by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) protest group in rural areas, caught the police by surprise with the law enforcement agency only reacting long after the women had finished their march.

The more than 200-strong group marched to the Ministry of Education district office in Filabusi demanding the reinstatement of their children whom they said had been expelled from schools for failing to pay fees. President Robert Mugabe’s government about two months ago hiked fees in schools and tertiary colleges by more than 1 000 percent. The fee increases sparked violent protests at state universities and colleges around the country. The women protesters were also demanding the resignation of Mugabe whom they said had failed to honour election promises of free and affordable education for the poor.

In a statement after the protests, WOZA said: "The protest caused a great stir in the rural town with many people leaving their offices to witness the event. Government minister and (ruling) Zanu PF MP for Insiza, Andrew Langa watched the protest with a very disturbed expression on his face." Under Zimbabwe’s tough security laws, it is illegal to demonstrate without seeking approval from the police. But WOZA has often defied the police ban on demonstrations to protest against worsening economic conditions in Zimbabwe. The latest protests by WOZA come in the wake of growing public anger over worsening economic conditions in Zimbabwe many blame on Mugabe’s mismanagement of the country’s economy.

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