Back to Index

Friday Networks June - July 2002
Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ)
July 30, 2002

Back to Contents, Next Page

Friday Network meetings held

1. Women and the Law – Sexual Offences Act - 07 June 2002
It was noted that little has been done in terms of educating the women, especially married women about the existence of this legislation. The Act aims at protecting women from being victims of HIV infection within the marriage set up especially when it comes to marital rape. It was however highlighted that there was a need for women to consider some of the implications of the legislation, e.g. what happens to the family unit when the husband goes to jail on charges of marital rape. Other issues relating to this problem such as the inaccessibility of female condoms, the use of Nevirapine and the constraints posed by African culture were also brought to light.

RESOLUTIONS

• There is need for an educational campaign for both men and women aimed at removing the restrictive implications of sex in a marriage set up.
• Have debates with men on why there is marital rape
• Need to conscientise the youth, socialise children into being assertive
• Sensitise the police on issues such issues like marital rape
• Women to be active in providing the alternative voice
• Need to put together a women's magazine
• Issues of the use of female condoms and Nevirapine to be addressed
• Initiate a project which will bring out women's voices on the issues
• Organise that all media women choose a certain day when they will write about the Sexual Offences Act so that it will appear in every issue of newspapers that are published on that day
• Need to work with Mothers’ Unions in churches

2. Women as Entrepreneurs - 14 June 2002
This was a highly attended meeting, which was aimed at introducing the idea of entrepreneurship to women. Leaders of women in business groups graced this meeting. The Metwoman, a Metropolitan Bank loan facility for women wanting to venture into businesses, was also discussed. Testimonies from women who had started small but were now millionaires, were shared and these left the women present with enough zeal to go and venture into a successful business of their own.

RESOLUTIONS

• Need for more interaction between business women and the media to help disseminate information on how to start a business.
• Women in business agreed to assist potential businesswomen by heping them access bank loans, as well as advertise their wears.
• Media women agreed that they would also get involved in the business world by becoming members of business organisations, as well as taking part in their activities.

OBSERVATION
This was a highly popular topic, as could be witnessed by the big turnout. It was also an indication that businesswomen were living in a cocoon, and did not share information with other women. It was also an indication of the economic hardship, which was resulting in more women to want to venture into business activities to support their families' incomes.


3. Arrest of journalists - 21 June 2002
The meeting's focus was on the intimidation and the subsequent arrests of media practitioners. It was noted that there is need for journalists to support each other all the time irrespective of gender. It was also observed that apart from the press releases, MISA and FAMWZ had done nothing about the cases of the arrested journalists. Various strategic ways that journalists can use in the face of arrest were discussed it was noted that it was essential that journalists learn to network with each other and other organisations such as MISA and FAMWZ. MISA has established a Defence Fund to help journalists that have been arrested.

It was also suggested that a taskforce be formed and it will be responsible for contacting lawyers when journalists are arrested. It would also be responsible for informing and mobilising other journalists about the arrest. It will also be there to organise and facilitate counselling for traumatised journalists. This task force has to be drawn from all the associations if possible.

RESOLUTIONS

• Need for a hotline, which journalists can use when in trouble and it has to have one number.
• FAMWZ tasked to collect as many numbers as possible of member journalists and invent a mini telephone directory.

4. Childless Women - 28 June 2002
Meeting focused on the real life experiences of women who have been considered as barren by society – some of whom have formed the Chipo Chedu Trust. The latter aims at fighting the stigma that is attached to women who can not have children. The discussion hinged on the various stigmas and the difficulties those women who have no children face in their everyday lives. It was generally agreed that adoption was generally not the ideal in most situations especially when it comes to cultural considerations.

RESOLUTIONS

• To help Chipo Chedu Trust with reformulating their brochure to make it clear so that people get to understand what the Trust is all about
• Need to engage people into more dialogue and discussion in order to dispel the stigma attached to being infertile
• Need to help young couples who can not have children raise money for implants
• Need to cushion those who do not have children
• Create a home or village for orphaned/parentless children

5. The dilemma of being a successful woman - 05 July 2002
The meeting focused on why it was difficult for society to accept the success of women. It was also deliberated why most successful women were, in most cases, single. Reasons that were proffered ranged from the factor of how society socialises women for particular stereotypical roles in society, the different expectations of both men and women as to how a relationship should be run. It was pointed out that in terms of relationships, there was a power struggle between empowered women and their male counterparts. Men always feel threatened by women who appear to have more power than they do. It was the general consensus that in most cases economic success does not automatically translate to social success.

RESOLUTIONS

• Women must be conditioned to believe in what they are worth
• Women must be the agents of change in the society and this should start from an individual level
• Women must be open to the various choices that await them; marriage not the only institution that women should opt for
• Women must not allow themselves to be victims of the stereotypical values that society imposes upon them.
• Women must be able to unite for a cause like what men do when they form a brotherhood.

6. Women as Leaders - 12 July 2002
The guest speaker pointed out that society has a misconception as to the powers and capabilities of women as opposed to those of men. It was also pointed out that most women were not supportive of their counterparts hence most women were not comfortable to have some of their own in top leadership positions. It was generally conceived as the norm that women are ascribed to certain leadership positions and not others. Women are said to be good leaders in the private scene and not in public office. Women were also blamed for the lack of women in leadership positions as some were too defeatist or were too scared to take up leadership challenges.

It was also noted that in some cases, women either do not have the right qualifications for the leadership posts they are given or they are not willing to ask for help from those they consider as their juniors. Spouses were also cited as posing a major challenge to women in leadership posts as they tended to revert to the traditional dictum that a woman's place is in the home and that a woman should not rise above what the man has achieved. This has resulted in the male backlash in which men try to avoid discussing issues at hand and instead revisit secondary issues which have long been resolved.

WAY FORWARD

• Women need to understand and appreciate the social context within which they aspire to be leaders
• It is women's responsibility to take up the challenge to become leaders and also to support those who take up this challenge
• Discourage damaging gossip about women in leadership positions particularly from the men
• Women must be able to set individual goals and achieve them
• Women should engage in topical issues, e.g. Nepad
• FAWMZ to arrange some leadership courses for women recently promoted

7. Cervical cancer can kill - 19 July 2002
Meeting was aimed at informing the participants about cervical cancer. It was said that apart from AIDS, cervical cancer was one of the top sexually transmitted diseases among women. The speaker, who was from the Ministry of Health, was at pains to explain its various stages and how it could be diagnosed and treated in its early stages. It was noted that most women did not take the threat of the disease seriously as they thought it was a disease most associated with whites. In Zimbabwe, women who risk contracting cervical cancer range from as early as 15 years up to menopause. In most instances, cervical cancer is transmitted through sexual activities or through constant traumatisation of the cervix e.g. when giving birth. It was also noted that women who had more than 4 children stood a higher risk of getting infected with the disease. Women were also dissuaded from wearing herbs or using tampons as they are also suspected to linked to cervical cancer.

NB The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare is to embarked on a nationwide campaign on cervical cancer aimed at raising awareness and introducing a new method of detecting and screening cervical cancer known as VIA (Visual Inspection of the Cervix with Acetic Acid).


RESOLUTIONS

• Women urged to go for screening for cervical cancer at least once a year
• Widows and women who have reached menopause also encouraged to go for screening to as they might have caught the infection earlier before they get to menopause

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP