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Invitation to church leaders to participate in the 16 days of activism against gender violence
Womens Coalition
November 03, 2005

The Church Leaders and Pastors
To all Christian churches in Zimbabwe

Dear Church Leaders and Pastors

I greet you in peace and friendship. The Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) is a network of women rights activists and women’s organizations with national structures. The WCoZ is a forum where women meet to engage in collective activism on issues affecting women and girls in Zimbabwe. Its central role is to provide a focal point for activism on women and girl’s rights. WCoZ brings females from diverse backgrounds to collectively advocate for the attainment and enjoyment of their rights. The organisational members of the Coalition work in diverse fields including health, legal aid, access to education, gender based violence, torture, skills training, poverty reduction, research, property rights and governance issues. The Coalition has chapters in Bulawayo, Masvingo, and Mutare.

The Women’s Coalition is inviting you and your congregation to participate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. This period runs every year from the 25^th of November to the 10^th of December and it is a period when women and men world wide take a stand and speak out against the scourge of domestic and public violence against women and girls. This is also in line with the World Council of Churches (WCC), "Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) running from 2001-2010. The theme this year is "For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World, No More Violence."

Unfortunately domestic and public violence remains a cruel reality for many Christian women and girls in the Zimbabwean Community. The mass sexual abuse and rape of more that fifty primary school girls at Macheke Primary school is testimony to this. Statistics reveal that 25% of the adult women are kicked, beaten and slapped by their partners, 8% of the women are assaulted with a dangerous weapon, 17% of the women reported that their husbands brought home or boasted about having girl friends and 18% of the women reported being prevented from getting a job or going to work.

Violence against women prevents them from leading full lives and reaching the maximum of their potential. Jesus said that he had come to give abundant life to all. Christians name a God who is good, a God of love who has created in us all a mystery of God’s own image. We are intended to live in loving and just relationships with God and with each other. The church can do this by working for reconciliation in the context of gender violence. This means that as a church you open your eyes, see gender violence for what it is, hear the cries of the victim/survivors and speak out against such violence.

Churches already preach the good news of peace for all God’s people. You can go further and take an active part in naming, condemning and struggling against gender violence in all its forms. We are asking you for the sake of the mothers, sisters and young girls in your church to preach against gender violence in all or one of your sermons between the 25^th of November and the 10^th of December 2005. You can also put the 16 Days on your calendar and embark on activities against gender violence every year. Do not hesitate to contact the Women’s Coalition or any of our members for guidance, resource persons or materials to distribute in your community.

We wish for a day when local church communities can work to become sanctuaries where survivors of abuse will be listened to and met, not with blame but with messages of hope. Please find attached two information pamphlets on what you and your congregation can do to fight gender violence. You can copy these for your Parish Council or leaders of your church or better still put them up on the notice boards. Contact us if you need more hard copies.

We wish you the strength to challenge violence against God’s people.

Yours Faithfully

Betty Makoni
Chairperson

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