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Women, politics and the Zimbabwe crisis
Research and Advocacy Unit Zimbabwe
May 26, 2010

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Summary of key findings

This report gives the first findings of a national poll of 2158 women, drawn from all ten provinces. The women were polled in mid-November to early-December 2009.

Women and elections:

• Women believe that they should participate in politics and increasing numbers of women are voting, although in less numbers than are actually eligible to vote;
• Women report that they have become increasingly unsafe during elections, and very large numbers report that they have experienced violence during elections;
  Most women believe that violence is unacceptable during elections, and most women believe that elections should not favour any single party.

Women and violence:

• 52% stated that they had been victims of violence and 14% stated that they had been physically maimed;
• The most commonly reported perpetrators were non-state agents [Zanu PF supporters, war veterans, youth militia];
• The most common violations reported at the hands of state officials were threats, torture, assaults and arbitrary arrest in that order;
• The most common violations reported at the hands of non-state agents wer threats, assault, torture and property destruction in that order;
• Rape was reported with a surprisingly high frequency: 2% reported being personally raped, 3% reported that a family member had been raped, and a startling 16% reported that someone in the community had been raped;
• 44% reported that women are affected differently by political violence, giving reasons ranging from their weaker physical status to their inability to go into hiding due to their family responsibilities.

Women and peace:

• The three most common responses to the question about what would bring about peace were an end to violence, free and fair elections and democracy.

The inclusive government:

• 85% of women felt that they should have been consulted about the GPA, and 70% stated that women's interests were not represented in the IG;
• 80% of women stated that their lives had not changed much for the better since the formation of the IG;
• Apart from food security, health, and education, a majority of women expressed little trust in he IG to deliver on a wider range of issues;
• Most women [74%] believe that Robert Mugabe has the most power in the IG, with a small number [14%] believing that Morgan Tsvangirai has any power, and virtually none believe that Arthur Mutambara has any power;
• However, most [51%] expressed support for MDC-T, with only 9% and 3% expressing support for Zanu PF and MDC-M respectively. 21% said that they were unwilling to say and 14% stated that they did not support a party.

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