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Women Educating Women in Zimbabwe: “I have been empowered and I will educate other women”

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Case Study: Women Educating Women in Zimbabwe: “I have been empowered and I will educate other women”

“I am no longer afraid, I have been empowered and I will educate other women, both formal and informal workers, to participate actively in the ZCTU and also in the community so that they are involved in decisions that affect their rights” Lucia Masekesa, ZCTU and ZICEA
magaya photo
Lucia Masekesa and others at a ZCTU civic education workshop

As Zimbabwe marks the occasion of the second anniversary of the formation of the Government of National Unity, which has led to some economic growth, the stabilisation of inflation and some diversity in the print media, talk of pending elections in the next year seems to have automatically led to a worrying rise in violence and intimidation across the country. 

Undeterred, as part of the TUC/ZCTU project, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, has been continuing to educate women across the country on their rights, existing legislation affecting them and the constitution making process. And as Lucy Masekesa, the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Association’s (ZICEA) Southern Territory illustrates, women educated by the ZCTU refuse to be intimidated into submission and pledge to spread the word.

Since April 2010, around 150 women elected to the ZCTU District Women’s Advisory Councils have attended a three day civic education workshop, including in Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, Nyanga, Kwe Kwe, Chinohoyi, Kariba and Chegutu.  Originally, the ZCTU had planned to have covered every district in the country by now, however as Fiona Magaya, Women and Gender Coordinator explains:

“The process of project implementation was slowed down by the Constitutional Forums which the government was carrying out and which were marred by violence.  The ZCTU was therefore unable to carry out activities in districts where the process was taking place as the they were guarded and because the ZCTU is a vocal critic of the process, believing it should be people-driven instead, this would have been construed as a campaign against the Parliament driven process.  Therefore we continued to educate the districts that were accessible.  We have also had to reduce the number of districts we will cover because after years of political intimidation, a few are not so well organised and the budget does not stretch far enough to properly organise them”.

Yet, even in the ‘accessible’ districts the ZCTU had to take great care as Gilbert Marembo who facilitated on the history of the ZCTU, elections, democracy and participation remembers:

“In Ghegutu I had to postpone the training for a day because on the initially booked day, a political activity (ZANU PF) was taking place, so we had to run it on the following day and we were pleased to not experience any political interference”.

Fiona continues “this was also a very busy period for the ZCTU, the Gender and Women’s department and other civic educators have also been involved in the Tripartite Negotiations for an amendment of the Labour Laws, Transitional Justice and the influencing of national legislation. However we managed to secure educators from our trained teams and our affiliates and five of the women who had been trained during the previous phase, facilitated on the roles and functions of women structures within the ZCTU”.

However, this delay enabled the ZCTU to utilise the evaluation questionnaires from the first phase to improve the delivery in the second phase including allowing more time for key topics and increasing group discussion and participant input.  This has paid off with 85% of the women having their expectations met and 95% of participants acknowledging that the subject content was rich and the facilitators very articulate.
Lucia Masekesa
Women trade unionists are naturally motivated to utilise their learning for the wider good of the workplace and society.  Lucia Masekesa, a mother of 3 children used to work in Sales in a company but when the economy collapsed she found herself retrenched and has had to find a way to survive in the informal economy.  Today, she works at a flea market in Masvingo selling clothes and electrical goods which she buys through crossing the border into South Africa and Botswana and her story provides one example of what the training has meant to her and how she has been able to use it. 

At the time of the training, Lucia was the current chairperson of the ZCIEA’s Masvingo chapter and was the acting chairperson for the ZICEA Southern Territory.  Lucia explains her story:

“I generally enjoy counselling other women on issues that affect our lives and so am very active within my community.  I am the Secretary of the Masvingo Residence Association, the Organising Secretary for Masvingo Agenda, Vice Chairperson of the ZCTU Southern Regional Women’s Committee and an active member of the Zimbabwe Women Traders Association.  I am also an active member of the MDC T, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s political party and I stood for council elections in 2008 due to the intimidation of voters to either not vote or vote for the ruling party.  I was first trained by the ZCTU Women’s Civic Education project in March 2010 and was later used to assist in opening and facilitating the District Women’s Advisory Council training workshop in my local area.”
When I met the TUC’s independent evaluator I remember explaining about how I had stood for council elections in 2008 but because of the way I had lost it had made me feel really low.  Now, after being trained and then facilitating other women’s training in my local district I feel encouraged once again, to try for the council elections again in 2012.  The training has also helped me to win elections at the ZICEA 2010 Congress and I have risen from being a chapter chairperson to becoming the Masvingo Territorial Chairperson.  In early December 2010 I also organised, with other leaders, a meeting of the Masvingo Agenda where 35 women discussed the possibility of elections, the constitutional making process and what women wanted included in the constitution.” 

And Lucy is not alone, here is a small selection of other comments given on the feedback forms, behind which there lies much activity in the workplace, unions and communities of the women whom have been trained:

“I have learnt about the Global Political Agreement and the repressive Laws. Now I know the secret behind the bushes and am going to be a strong trade union activist from now on. I will educate my workmates about workplace issues which I learnt today”.

‘Yes objectives of the workshop have been met and we will all go and participate actively. I will advocate for women to participate and I will be resourceful both at my workplace and in the community I live in”.

“I am going to change workers’ attitudes towards trade unions and educate or influence them to actively participate in all workers activities”

By the end of March a further 13 districts and 12 ‘local’ (hard to reach isolated towns surrounded by countryside) ZCTU Women’s Advisory Committees will receive training, taking the total to around 800.  Given the motivation, strength and commitment of these women to bring about positive social, economic and political change, it is conservatively estimated that each will further educate and empower a further five women each bringing the total that directly benefit to 4,800.

Gemma Freedman, Programme Officer

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