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Mother's Day walk on May 10
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
May 05, 2003

Mother's Day falls on Sunday 11 May this year and has been formally celebrated since 1911. It began in Churches and has become a day to pay tribute to Mothers by giving them gifts to express love and gratitude. Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are organising a walk on Saturday 10th Day 2003 in honour of Zimbabwean mothers facing the brunt in the current hardships.

Women do not have much to share and know that our families may not find money to buy gifts so we are asking mothers to join the walk and share a spirit of togetherness on the Saturday before.

We ask women to attend in large numbers and to carry their grass brooms ready to sweep the street as they walk, illustrating that the time has come for us to put our house (Zimbabwe) in order. We also request support from women's organisations, unions and clubs.

Our major wish on our special day is that we can restore love and peace and we are convinced that Zimbabweans have the power to give us these two gifts, maybe not on mother's day but some day very soon.

In Zimbabwe 56% of the population is female and traditionally it is the mother who must provide sustenance despite meager budget. We believe that it is the women who are at the end of the suffering chain and it is they who suffer in silence. WOZA was formed to end that silence and lobby to end the suffering.

We, the women of Zimbabwe, who are wives, mothers and sisters, appeal to you to assist us to vocalize this torment by finding the courage to attend.

We talk of our concern for our families, of our pain when we see their pain. We, the women, sit for days and weeks and months in queues - waiting and waiting for food that does not arrive. While we wait, our children wander the forests searching for roots and seeds and even insects to eat.

Share our despair, the men we love and rely on, face the humiliation because they cannot provide for us. Eight out of ten of our husbands are without formal employment. Those in jobs earn so little money that they can barely buy basic foods. 200% inflation has made wages meaningless. Some of our husbands rise at 4 am to walk 20 km to work, to avoid the taxi fares. They work all day on nothing to eat and arrive home so late and so tired they can do nothing. Often they beat us up just out of frustration.

We wish to tell you of our anguish as mothers of school leavers. Our children have no hope of work, and worse still, are now being forced into youth militia training. Last year, we were brutalised by our own youth in our communities. Our daughters, who were forced to train as militia, were returned to us raped and many are diseased.

Our sons have been taught the language of violence and intolerance. As mothers, we weep privately to see our families being divided and our family values corrupted by the men who rule our land.

We have informed the Zimbabwe Republic Police of this event and request that they allow us our constitutional right to walk through the streets of Zimbabwe freely and without fear. We know Zimbabweans to be people of compassion and that members of the police force have mothers who are capable of imagining and feeling our pain. Our children are hungry, our men are angry and we can no longer comfort them. Help us to sow love where there is hatred - this is the work of a mother!

Those unable to attend but wish to express their solidarity can donate towards organising costs in cash or in kind. Petrol for mobility is our major need.

For more information, please contact Jenni (+263) 11 213 885 (Byo) or Getrude (+263) 11 411 842 (Harare)

Visit the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) fact sheet

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