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New Zimbabwean women's web portal to launch next week
Her Zimbabwe
March 05, 2012

It's a leap year AND women's month . . . so we decided to launch a women's web portal! Yes, Tuesday 13 March 2012 will witness the launch of www.herzimbabwe.co.zw, a web portal dedicated to discussing and articulating Zimbabwean women's issues and experiences.

"From my discussions with different Zimbabwean women, I have come to realise that many are struggling to find their space within society and to give voice to their many concerns," observed the Founder and Managing Editor of the web portal, Fungai Machirori. "In my view, these challenges have come about because Zimbabwean women have struggled to strike a balance between articulating and celebrating their individualism, while still retaining their collective cultural and social identities."

herzimbabwe is therefore a response to that vacuum; a space where, hopefully, women will be able to see their lives and stories reflected through those of other women. The portal will feature personal perspectives, historical information, arts, lifestyle and health features, as well as a section dedicated to male views and experiences. The herzimbabwe project will also actively engage Zimbabwean women in the diaspora who have often been marginalised from mainstream Zimbabwean discourse due to their physical distance from issues.

herzimbabwe is supported by the Founder of the Zimbo Jam lifestyle and entertainment website, Fungai Tichawangana, who developed the web portal as well as offered other technical support. "When Fungai approached me with her idea about the project, I wanted to assist immediately," said Tichawangana of the project. "It resonated with so many things that my late wife, Shingie Chimuriwo, believed in such as the use of information technology as a tool for development and the creation of spaces for young people to air their views and tackle issues that concern them."

herzimbabwe is launching just a few days after the global commemoration of International Women's Day and a few days before the one year anniversary of Shingie Chimuriwo's death. "There's no greater tribute I could think of to the women who have, over the years, worked passionately towards a better Zimbabwe," noted Machirori.

The web portal will run as a pilot project between March and June 2012, at which point an evaluation of its viability will be conducted.

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