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International Women's Day commemoration should be supported not disrupted
Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA)
March 08, 2011

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has been trying to hold peaceful commemoration of International Women's Day. They have the necessary permissions to hold events. Despite this the police have disrupted rallies and gatherings across the country in an attempt to stop them going ahead. 16 women were arrested in Bulawayo but have since been released.

Women in Zimbabwe (and elsewhere) have the right to mark International Women's Day. It is a day to assert the dignity and rights of women and reflect that far too often they suffer discrimination, inequality and violence. We need to build a world with real gender equality.

ACTSA supports the women of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions in their efforts to commemorate International Women's Day. We call for their gatherings and events to be allowed to go ahead without obstruction and that no-one should fear or experience arrest or harassment for peacefully marking International Women's Day.

Notes

• Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) is the successor organisation to the Anti-Apartheid Movement. Since 1994 ACTSA has been campaigning with the people of southern Africa as they strive to build a better future, working for democracy, rights and development across the region. www.actsa.org
• ACTSA, in partnership with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), runs the Dignity! Period. Campaign, which raises funds to provide essential sanitary protection for women in Zimbabwe.

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