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An
open letter to friends and fellow activists
Jenni Williams,
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
Bulawayo - March 21, 2004
An open letter
to friends and fellow activists,
For the second
year running I spent International Women's Day, 8th March in Police
custody! Fortunately last year it was just a few hours before sanity
prevailed and myself and the 18 other women were released. This
year I was arrested on the eve and only made $ 10000 bail on the
9th March after spending over 48 hours in terrible conditions in
Police cells. This was my eighth arrest and brings my tally to over
160 hours in Police custody since February 14, 2003. I am not ashamed
at all and regard these hours as and investment in my future well
being as a Zimbabwean. I find solace in the words of Ghandi "the
real road to happiness lies in going to jail and undergoing suffering
and privations there in the interest of one's country and religion".
Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) was born as a national movement on that Valentines
Day 2003. Over 78 of us were arrested in Harare and Bulawayo. That
was my first arrest and I was honoured to be one of 48 women, 6
journalists and my teenage son who was watching the march from across
the road. On that day I was charged under the repressive Public
Order & Security Act (POSA) but was freed after signing a warn
and cautioned statement. My WOZA sisters back home in Bulawayo fared
worse and spent the night in custody and were only released under
the pressure of our daybreak vigil outside the Police station. On
Valentines Day we had marched in defiance of POSA calling on our
brother and sisters to learn to love again and felt that we had
a God given right to deliver this message to Zimbabweans who had
seemingly forgotten how to love each other in all the chaos.
I am a founding
member of WOZA, a civil disobedience movement for Zimbabwean community
women who need to speak out and act to expose the current suffering
they and their families are undergo as political leaders posture
for power forgetting completely the people they should serve. We
speak out and demonstrate peacefully, Ghandi and Martin Luther King
style, despite POSA, Police and Politicians. I regard POSA as an
attempt to stifle the nation of God's gift of speech and human association.
Martin Luther King, Jnr said "One who breaks an unjust law that
conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty
of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community
over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect
for the law". That is why I and members of WOZA continue to march
to demonstrate what we think of POSA.
I write this
letter having spent the last 3 days in retreat and fasting to meditate
on developments and strengthen my commitment the cause. I reflected
long and hard on many issues, including my apparent notoriety due
mainly to my street activism. Last year, I had been asked to speak
at a local meeting. I was advised that Police clearance had been
sought under POSA, but Police had declined to allow the event if
"Jenni Williams" was one of the speakers. A local state newspaper
had advised the "Jenni Williams" name could not be used in an advert.
I was told that the offices of the organisation had been visited
to search for me. Sadly, since that time I have received no further
invitations to speak at this organisations events and whenever I
meet the people associated, they recount their amazement at the
Police reaction. Just this week someone elaborated further and told
me that the Police called me a "Forbidden Person".
On the 7th March,
WOZA was attending a National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) meeting
whose agenda was elections for the Matabeleland officials. WOZA
had elected to join NCA' s call for a new constitution and therefore
attendance at this meeting was vital. Despite a caution from the
MC that WOZA was not to 'disturb' his meeting, WOZA was graciously
given a platform to read its position statement out and did so.
We had already visited the NCA and advised them of our activity
for 8th March and requested their support and endorsement. Dr Lovemore
Madhuku, a brave champion of constitution reform and NCA Chairman
addressed the meeting and gave a no holes barred call for activists
to get out into the streets and be prepared to "die for a new constitution".
I admired his courage in delivering his speech candidly to an audience
with at least 4 state intelligence agents present. He has only just
recovered from wounds inflicted by brutal Police who were prepared
to "leave him for dead". During that meeting, one of my colleagues
arrived and informed me that she had been followed from home by
a plain-clothes intelligence agent. Two Riot Police men in their
full riot kit were seen patrolling around and the MC announced their
presence. It became apparent that the state agents in the meeting
had been detailed to arrest my colleagues and myself before we left.
We marvelled at this intelligence as we thought they had come to
arrest Lovemore.
Perhaps we should
have taken the tip off more seriously in light of our planned protest
march the next day but we are in God's hands. We were fully prepared
to be arrested in 'action' on International Women's Day, but not
then. We decided to make an early exit and asked for some activist
friends to escort us to the car. Three agreed to come with us but
unfortunately as we reversed out of the parking, 2 Riot Policemen
stopped us saying "Our boss wanted to speak to you at Bulawayo Central
Police". Lawyers were contacted and we played for time fully expecting
'our comrades' in the meeting to come out and support us. Our friends
who had escorted us informed us not to expect support as the meeting
continued on undisturbed. Although Lovemore did do his best to get
us lawyers. We eventually accepted our fate and followed the WOZA
tradition of walking ourselves, under Police escort to jail.
We were initially
charged with distributing our newsletter WOZA MOYA (come Holy Spirit),
calling for a new constitution and Valentine Cards, which carry
the message: "Our beloved Zimbabwe is crying. We must defend our
right to love, and let love overcome hate." On arrival at Police
Central, we did not see 'the boss'. We spent over an hour being
verbally abused by Policemen. Our lawyer finally arrived and was
advised that it was a Sunday and she should only make representations
for us on Monday. My two colleagues, Magodonga Mahlangu and Patricia
Khanye had never been arrested before and could not believe the
flimsy charges. As we were led to the jail cell we knew in our hearts
that those policemen were just out to suppress women's voices on
their special day.
All three of
us feel frustrated at the lack of active support from the NCA activists
and as Patricia told them - "one day it could be you and what would
you want us to do." Not one came to visit us or bring us food in
jail and not one of them came in solidarity to the court hearing.
I must mention
another frustration in that, despite all these arrests, not one
cleric has visited us or thought to bring us a cup of tea. Many
of those that meet me in the streets bemoan that the situation is
tough but do little else. Martin Luther King Jr wrote of the clerics
of his time by saying, "How often the Church has had a high blood
count of creeds and an anemia of deeds." I must however give thanks
to one pastor who has given me hope. He performed the prayer service
in Harare before the march and remained as observer throughout the
march, praying and giving the WOZA women courage.
We shared our
jail cell with 3 illegal foreign currency dealers (moneychangers)
and other youngsters on various charges. At 4am, 5 prostitutes joined
us bringing our total to 15 women. The first night we sang in protest
at the lack of blankets refusing to be silenced. We had a jolly
good time and built up a real sisterhood. It was great and my colleagues
admitted that they had been afraid of jail and that they now knew
it to be just fear of the unknown.
The next day,
a businesswoman found herself in custody for suspected fraud. She
stood at the door, reluctant to come in. Then she sat on the cement
floor a distance from us. I got up to use the toilet, which is in
view of all cellmates. This shocked the newcomer into saying, "so
you just wee and we all watch", 'yes sister', I said and that broke
the ice. Within 20 minutes she was singing and dancing with us,
her woes and the filth surrounding us forgotten. Again we protested
through song to the Policemen for blankets and water to drink. We
were denied both. Some moneychangers in the next cell formed a chorus
with us. When we went out for head counts which happens frequently,
other prisoners kept asking me (the only white skinned person) what
I had done and I replied that I am a women's rights activist charged
under POSA.
This time, there
was less abusive intimidation towards me personally by uniformed
Police managing the cells. In previous times they have pointedly
engaged me abusively and tried to intimidate me. From the first
arrest of WOZA activists, we have accepted an additional task and
phase in our civil disobedience and that is to engage every officer
that we can. We call on their common sense to prevail and for them
to admit that times are hard and we need to be allowed to speak
out. We do this in a feminine and of late, I have found myself having
moments when I pity a police officer that starts to provoke one
of us. He gets it thick from at least 5 women, in concert and with
high-pitched voices. I feel that this could be one of the reasons
the Police sought to arrest a few of us beforehand as they know
in the demo they will have to arrest over 20 women and then labour
to process us all. They apparently don't like working late and being
harangued.
On the Monday
morning, as International Women's Day dawned we said a prayer for
WOZA and especially the secondary leadership painstakingly trained
for such a test. Police had hoped that our arrest would halt planned
demonstrations by holding the leadership as 'hostages' in jail.
We got quieter and prayed harder as the appointed times of the protest
approached. Our silent prayer was that our arrest would not be in
vain. We were prepared to face any charges and even spend a month
in jail, if only the WOZA women continued their march. And March
they did, all though Bulawayo, passing a block from the Police Station.
In Harare too, women Marched and marched. No arrests or intimidation
from Police. Our prayers were answered. The Police had tried to
disable WOZA by arresting the leadership, but women amply demonstrated
that WOZA is theirs and the issues are theirs. And so that International
Women's Day afternoon Police began processing new charges - from
distributing leaflets to encompass the demonstrations under a POSA
section. The next day they failed to charge us under POSA and had
to take us to court on lesser charges. These were, "Contravening
Section 360 (2) (b) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act as
read with Section 7 (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The essence
of the charge: Inciting other people to demonstrate and cause a
public disorder and/or disturbance and/or nuisance. We posted bail
and were remanded to this Tuesday, 23 March 2004 when our lawyers
hope to get the charged dropped completely. I must say that I would
much rather go to jail than pay a fine admitting to a guilt I do
not feel.
I pay tribute
to the organisations that stand alongside us as we perform this
fight for freedom and conduct our form of national service. These
include the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Crisis Coalition
who called for our release. Thank you also to international friends
for their emails of support and care packages sent to us. We urge
Women's Coalition to stand alongside us as we fight for an amplified
women's voice within this current crisis. Their official 'silence'
when WOZA women are arrested on flimsy charges is deafening! As
an individual I call on fellow activists to not be scared away by
state propaganda. By now all activists should know that the state
would work day and night to create disunity. Stand alongside, support
in anyway you can, without fear, any activist fighting for democracy
and freedom. God himself will fortify you as he has always done
throughout history when common citizens stand up for their God given
rights.
United we stand,
divided we fall. After all it is not just Jenni Williams, Patricia
Khanye and Magodonga Mahlangu that were incarcerated, we were symbolic
hostages for 54 percent of the population of Zimbabwean women crying
to end the suffering and calling for their human rights to be upheld.
Most of all, we called for love to overcome hate and dignity on
International Women's Day. We must develop a culture wherein we
cherish our champions. Will you attend the WOZA court hearing on
23 March? Will you bring us a cup of tea when we are imprisoned?
If you do, you
will have understood that this is OUR collective struggle and together
we will win freedom and equality but we must be prepared to endure
suffering. Freedom does not come easy. We have to fight (albeit
passively), for the right to be free!
Visit the Women
of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) fact
sheet
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