The survival story of Zimbabwe's proud women

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU

Shingirai Maphosa (19), a waitress attending customers at a busy restaurant, in Harare, has inspired her older workmates with her courage and strength to bulldoze through the barriers between her poor background and her dreams, erected by Zimbabwe’s difficult economic situation over the years.

Maphosa finished her ordinary school level, at Glen View 1 High School, in 2007 and she has since described her four-year experience as “frustrating and discouraging” though she soldiered on.

Getting chased out from school having not paid school fees was typically how the young woman started every school term, in her high density suburb. She hardly wore any new pair of school uniform, white socks or shoes, since her father passed away in 2006. She had to buy cheap used uniform from school leavers with the money she earned from selling home-made lollipop ice-creams from mauyu –an African fruit.

“And I hardly paid any cash for the cheap second hand uniforms, but I was fortunate that they were patient with me and sometimes I would even manage to pay them when the uniforms are as old as getting torn in the collar and armpits,” she recalled.

“I was always left behind in the studies because I will spend the whole week at home without school fees, then I had to help my mum at her market place to raise my school fees as well as my young brothers’. It was even difficult to concentrate in school because I always worried if we were going to be able to raise the exam fee in the end.”

Because of the hic-ups, she only passed three Ordinary level subjects (English shona, Food and Nutrition). Maphosa sat again for the Accounts, Geography and Science examinations the following year, which she eventually passed. The 21-year-old went on to study a 14 months-course in hotel and catering, at a college in the capital.

Her current straining job as a restaurant waitress, where she works 72 hours a week is nothing close to her dream of working at a five star hotel, in the country and eventually opening her own restaurant. But she remains happy she is two steps up the ladder.

“It is that kind of job where employers love taking in young girls like me whom they know they won’t complain much on the salary. I get US$90 per month and my other workmates get US$60 and I have learnt not to complain because I have told myself that all I need is experience and it will not be the same with staying at home,” she said.

The young waitress’ widowed mother, is a vendor in Glen View, and she has relied on her business to raise her four children -Shingisai, Godwill (17), Panashe (13) and Masimba (3)- since his husband’s death three years ago.

She has always waked up early in the morning for her hoarding of vegetables in Highfield’s Lusaka market to sell in her community. With a meager profit of $US15 per week, the family has always adjusted to live under the circumstances by reducing their meals of the day.

“It is not easy, but sometimes when I’m about to quit I try to look at other options and find none and the next day I will still be stuck with it. It is not the best rewarding job to do when you are trying to raise a family, the money I get from each day is sometimes not enough to prepare a meal for my children and looking at them starve is so heartbreaking for me as a mother,” she said.

“But I’m happy that I have managed to get my daughter through ordinary level and she has been helping with what she gets from her job. That has been the life for us and we are at least proud that there was never one day we survived the day with anything stolen from anyone, we have always believed in hard work and that is what I have taught my children.”

The Maphosa family, is an epitome of several families in a Zimbabwe that has been hard-hit by a tough economic situation, in recent years. Women have survived through by empowering themselves with one of the society’s uninspiring business of vending.

Selling “Dollar for two” packets biscuits at several bus stations in the country, less profit making R2 each lollipop sweets and cellular phone juice cards has been most women’s source of income.

Last year, before the dollarization of the economy by the government, almost half the population in Harare city centre resorted to vending. Literally every corner of the street was jammed with women and children selling sweets as the atmosphere was filled with voices shouting “R5 unodya ten masweets” (R5 for ten sweets), “Dollar for dollar Buddie, Txt, Partnership” and that will be mobile phone airtime.

They have switched from one self job to another with different levels of the economical hardships. Some have raised families by cross boarder trading, as others have been pushed by circumstances to voluntarily stoop low and become house maids in neighboring countries, ignoring the ill-treatment from their paymasters for the sack of their families.

That has been the survival story of the proud and hard-working Zimbabweans; in an African country the economy has left the world wondered how a human being can pull through a day.

Women artists celebrate the she-roes of Zimbabwe

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU

Pamberi Trust’s project, Sistaz Open Mic, will be wrongly described by some chauvinists as a gathering of feminists denouncing the opposite sex, but last Saturday, The Zimbabwean witnessed a party of Zimbabwean women with the zeal and enthusiasm for the arts industry as they celebrated the living and their late she-roes of the country.
It was a thrilling function of renowned and upcoming women poets, singers and dancers as they showcased their talents with utmost gusto, with the response from the supportive audience motivating for any first-timers. The few men present will testify that the event needed not to be anti-men to be pro-women, a gathering of Zimbabwean artists bonding their sisterhood.
Among the famous artists present was the afro jazz diva, Dudu Manhenga and the acclaimed writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga. There were such moving performance from upcoming artists as songwriter and singers, Rina Mushonga, Thanda Richardson, Caroline Chipindu, Tanyaradzwa Todini popularly known to the other sisters as Sister Fire, South African rapper, Blackbird, poets Cynthia Marangwanda, Chido Manhombo among others.
Sistaz Open Mic was born in January 2007 as a special platform for emerging female artists and the project has gone a long way in moulding young talent, according to Manhenga.
“We have seen singers developing from scratch right in front of our eyes and we have had the likes of Vimbai Zimuto recording their first albums, Thanda Richardson is amazing. We have always made sure to make this event (Sistaz Open Mic) an afternoon show so that we have women coming in and going back home, on time to cook for their husbands. It is also a flexible time for the young artists who will be making their first appearances to come and get back home early,” she said.
The emerging Dutch-Zimbabwean pop star, Mushonga, believes women in Zimbabwe need to loosen free the star shining in their hearts to help build the arts industry.
“Women in the arts and those who aspire to be artists should know that they are a great part of Zimbabwe, they are amazingly resilient and will continue to be respected for supporting their families,” she said.
Mushonga (29), a Mutare based singer who performed at the Harare International Festival of Arts for the first time, this year, described her Afro-pop music as a folk rock fusion tangled with lyrics about Zimbabwe.
Hakuna magetsi (There is no electricity) was one song she moved the crowd with at Harare’s Book Café, last weekend. When Mushonga came back from Netherlands late 2008, she found a group of talented musicians from Mutare and together they have formed a band, Rina and the Zimfellas.
Her solo performance at the Sistaz Open Mic left many convinced Zimbabwe will have her own Tracey Chapman in Mushonga, but a whole lot energetic Chapman who knows how to keep her crowd rocking with the sound of her guitar.
The house was also set ablaze by Richardson and Sister Fire with their Jah Rasta Farian reggae music. The energy from the two women artists saw the Café ballooned into a tantalizing gospel show, at some moment as Fire preached of “One Love.”
“I’m hurt to see people discriminating others just because they may have grew up in an irie (happy) family, there should not be such a thing as street kids; we are all the same. One Love sistaz,” she encouraged.
Marangwanda, in her poem “woman” recited of the new independent woman of Zimbabwe whom some part of the society has chosen to call a feminist.
“She is a lioness hunting for the Promised Land through a creative path; they call her feminists she calls herself independent. Respect her, this new woman of Zimbabwe, heart of this nation; African woman, foundation of this land,” she called at the stage.
The show has become a popular space for young women who come out to perform in this no-pressure zone, finding encouragement, direction and a solid support system from established women artists of Zimbabwe, who fully support the programme, since its establishment.
Manhombo, a 19 year old upcoming poet who performed her poem in public for the first time told The Zimbabwean she was “nervous at first but the audience’s reception helped calm down the nerves.”

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Makarau lives her dream

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU
Rita Makarau is living her dream as the first woman Judge President of Zimbabwe.
Makarau, assumed the powerful position as head of Zimbabwe’s high court in 2006. She has become the epitome of success in the eyes of women in the country.
The road to her dream career was full of pot-holes. Sitting back on her luxurious leather sofa in her office, she told The Zimbabwean how she overcame the challenges women face in a patriarchal Zimbabwean society.
Makarau (48), a lawyer who had her first court case at the age of 24, reminisced about the days she was usually confused for a secretary by clients, describing her challenges as “double barreled” amongst men in law.
“People then had a notion that women do not make good lawyers,” said Makarau.
“Apparently, they had this picture of a big and mature man when they visited my offices and would usually take me for his secretary.
“They did not take me seriously, so as a young woman I had to work harder than the men and older women.
“For older women it was different because they earned respect because of their maturity and experience,” she recalled.
“I was so nervous when I had my first court case in 1984, knowing that the person I was representing was counting on me, yet I was also not sure if my legal submissions would make any sense to the judiciary.”
Born on December 7, 1960, Makarau grew up an ordinary girl in urban Zimbabwe, taking her secondary studies at Goromonzi high after Donbrooke primary school, in Mabvuku. She took up a law degree in 1980.
Makarau reckons her loss in the well-known Magaya vs Magaya – a gender-sensitive case which set the precedent for the girl child against the boy in matters of inheritance, as her toughest challenge in her career as a lawyer.
The court ruled that the girl could not inherit her father's estate, giving the estate to her half-brother, on the basis that the 'nature of African society' relegated women to a lesser status, especially in the home.
However, Makarau says that during that case, she managed to enlighten society of the subconscious isolation subjected to the girl child in matters of inheritance.
“We encourage our judges to protect the interests of children in divorce cases, as well as widows in cases of inheritance,” said the judge President.
In African societies some men have appeared uncomfortable around successful women who are outspoken and independent.
Makarau, however, said that she was not discouraged by those men who tried to pull down women to take up their positions.
“If men feel that they have to be at the head of the pack, they should be there because they deserve to be, not simply because they are men,” she said.
Makarau is married to Amos, and together they have a daughter (24). She has managed to juggle between family and work.
For any woman, that would be a trophy.
She appreciates the African culture in marriage, where a woman is “not only married to her husband but the extended family” and believes that she is managing well.
“To be a complete career woman one needs to be able to strike a balance between family and work.
“One needs to understand that if she sits on an executive board at work, they should not take their position home.
“It does not hurt to swallow one’s pride once in a while, reduce oneself to the children’s level and play with them,” Makarau explained.
“A lot of women have failed because they cannot climb up and down- down to earth at home, and back up on the decision making position at work,” she said.
The High Court has been accused of taking sides in recent years, while Makarau has been associated with bias towards Zanu P.F.
But the Zimbabwe’s Judge President denied being influenced or associated with any party “in any time in my career”.
She hopes that with the formation of the inclusive government, judges will pass their ruling without being accused of taking any sides.
“We had to live with that (allegations of bias) since 2002; we never really got to be appreciated to have done well, especially in sensational matters after one side lost,” explained Makarau.
“We are human beings and do sometimes make mistakes, but personally, I have never been influenced by anyone in any of my rulings. I have always given far judgment,” she said.

http://www.thezimbabwen.co.uk/

Hambira committed to fight for the rights of farm workers

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU

47-YEAR-OLD Getrude Hambira who was elected the first woman Secretary General for the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union at the height of the land reform in 2000, says she will continue fighting for human rights despite the political challenges.
Hambira tells Women Can that her road to this day has not been easy with the brutality the government unleashed, in recent years and she regrets to remember how women and children were badly affected.
“The past ten years have been so difficult for the farm workers, especially women and children. My rise to this post coincided with the infamous, chaotic state endorsed land reform in which there were a lot of human rights abuses. The workers lost their healthy livelihood and accommodation,” she said.
“It was a difficult time for me as a new leader, faced with thousands of workers to represent, at the same time evading the state agents who saw our quest to represent the farm workers as opposition to the land reform.”
Reminiscing of the 2002 parliamentary elections when then the ruling party, ZANU Pf lost 57seats to the newly formed Movement for Democratic Change, Hambira says her Union, GAPWUZ became known for the wrong reasons because of its affiliation to Zimbabwe Congress Of Trade Union, where the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai emerged.
“With such a background, heading GAPWUZ and standing for the rights of the farm workers was no easy task. I had to summon all the courage, determination and commitment to represent the people who had chosen me to stand up for them,” explained Hambira.
She has not been let down by being a woman leader in a male dominated and hostile political environment and tells of her ambitions to see farm workers, especially women and children “standing up for their rights and taking up decision making positions in the community and in the country as a whole.”
“The relationship that we have with workers is driven by our ambitions to bring up change in their lives. It is my dream to see women in the farms taking up leading position because their participation is very vital,” said GAPWUZ secretary general.
“My word to women is that we should not tire and look backwards, we should not lose focus but continue to fight for our rights with determination and courage; that is the only way we can be recognized.”
Hambira, who started her working career as a factory machinist in rural Zimbabwe at the age of 19, a year after Independence, joined the trade union movement in 1987 as an educator with the country’s main labor body, ZCTU, to later join its affiliate, GAPWUZ.
She is also involved in the Coalition Against Child Labor in Zimbabwe, which was formed after GAPWUZ, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe and African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Labor and Neglect realized that the new farmers recruited children to work in the farms following the creation of many child headed families due to the subsequent decline in the economy and the effects of the HIV-AIDS pandemic.
“We are strongly against child labor and we are encouraging that school is the best practice,” she said.

Rushwaya scoffs at ‘malicious allegations’ as she encourages women

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU


CONTROVERSY is her middle name and she loves making it, but Zimbabwe Football Association Chief Executive Officer, Henrietta Rushwaya denies all the allegations surrounding it to be true as she declared, “women are the future and the future are women.”
She was designated the first woman C.E.O of Zimbabwe football’s mother board in 2007 and Rushwaya have since been one of the only two African women –the other woman coming from Comoros- to head such a big decision-making position in a male dominated football environment.
She has managed to put the house in order, submitting a 2008 financial audit commended by the world football governing body, FIFA under their Aiding Programme as “the first pleasing report the Zimbabwe Football Association has submitted in a long time.”
Rushwaya takes pride in the changes she had made with ZIFA telling Women Can she believes, “I have the potential to do more and this is just the beginning.”
“When I came here in 2007, this place (ZIFA House) was just a dilapidated number 43 Livingstone Avenue; the workers here did not really know their purpose of coming to work and their job descriptions because there wasn’t much to do. There was not even an accounts department, marketing and technical but I have since managed to come up with a set up that improves that,”
Rushwaya grew up in Shurugwi in a colonial Zimbabwe. She has been an athlete since primary school and she recalls impressing Ian Smith, with her high jumping.
“I was a student at Charles Wraits; it was only for the blacks while a nearby school, Ian Douglas Smith was for the coloreds. Then one day I was watching the students from Ian Douglas doing their high jump and it was really bad, I went to Ian Smith and in my broken English I told him “Mr Smith I can jump that,” she reminisce.
“Once I proved it, I became a representative of that school in athletics and ever since then I became a person of scholarships up to university level.”
Rushwaya holds a Masters’ degree in Physical Education and her critics will not agree she is the right person to heard ZIFA, some arguing that “politicians can never run sports well.”
She has a political background with President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU Ff party, contesting against Shuvai Mahofa for the Gutu South prior to the 2008 harmonized elections. Since her rise to her post as ZIFA C.E.O, Rushwaya’s critics have been of the feeling that “she has failed in politics and has been compensated by her sympathetic ZANU Pf colleagues with a big position in football, which she will eventually ruin.”
But as she agreed politics and football “are totally different altogether,” she emphasized that “there are rules and regulations in football unlike in politics, once you make the rules your bible, nothing goes wrong.”
“I have a sporting background and sport is sport, one doesn’t need a class four driver’s license to be a C.E.O at ZUPCO, he may not even know how to drive a bus. One doesn’t necessarily need to have kicked a ball to be a ZIFA C.E.O. The challenge is that when you are a woman you just have to go an extra mile and running popular sports like football is a challenge in itself because even a person in the streets believes he has a say in everything, it is also run by a layman,” she argues.
“But I have since learnt that when one is a leader, he or she needs to be strong; I admire (Morgan) Tsvangirai for his courage and I thank the government for realizing the potential in women such as Mai Mujuru and Thokozani Khupe. By contesting against Mai Mahofa, I wanted to show that women can do it and having grown up amongst boys, I have always liked where it is hot and I enjoy the heat.”
As ZIFA C.E.O, Rushwaya may not have made history as yet but she has set the pace for women in the fight for women empowerment. Her courage and firm will inspire many in continuing to stand strong despite the criticism and scandalous media reports, which have poured on her in recent years.
“Success comes with criticism and it is always entangled with scandals, one can never be successful without being scandalized. It comes with a prize, one pays somehow,” said a down to earth Rushwaya.
She scoffed at her alleged sexual-affair with the former Warriors captain and Manchester City striker, Benjani Mwaruwari, and the Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, saying “it is because I’m a woman and I found it to be jealousy from men who have envied me for achieving something they failed.”
“Benjy and I are related, his uncle married my aunt, and I help him manage his finances here like when he recently bought his mother a house in Bulawayo. I have always looked at Gideon as a very committed and hard-working brother,” she said.
“I encourage women out there to stand firm and strong in whatever position they hold, there is need for a little degree of insanity to outdo men in different sectors. Remain steadfast in your decisions and above all be loyal… to God (she smiles). Women are the future and the future is women,” she declared.