Opinion / Columnist
Where are the women's groups?
05 Dec 2011 at 12:30hrs | Views
The deafening silence from women's rights groups and their equally culpable HIV/Aids rights groups over the philandering case of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai leaves one wondering whether their philanthropic mandates have now assumed a political dimension.
Here is an irrefutable case where a whole Prime Minister of a country is using his political eminence to sexually subdue powerless women.
In the wake of these amorous escapades, some women were allegedly impregnated while others, if not all of them, were left to ponder their bleak future after being used as dispensable sexual objects.
Judging by reports that Mr Tsvangirai impregnated some of the women, we will be forgiven to conclude that the premier is having unprotected sex with his widening network of women associates.
Such behaviour exposes the women and the premier himself to HIV infection.
The virus could also be passed on to unborn children.
Not only were the women and the premier exposed to HIV infection, but they were also at high risk of also contracting other sexually-transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and other spine-chilling and life sucking preventable diseases.
To those who are aware of the development of cervical cancer in women, they would also testify that the premier was concomitantly exposing these women to infection by the not so talked about Human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
HPV infections are known to be the most frequently transmitted sexual diseases in the world.
These infections invariably occur in people who practice unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners.
It is also disheartening to note that after allegedly impregnating Ms Lorcadia Karimatsenga Tembo, the Prime Minister was quick to pay damages in acknowledgement of his culpability but then immediately abandoned her to scrounge for the survival of the children.
Notwithstanding the health-related dangers to which the women were exposed to, some married women saw their marriages being wrecked as a result of their relationship with the premier.
The publicised divorce case between Acquelina Mberi and her husband in Bulawayo is one of the cases in point.
It is undeniable that the psychological trauma that arose as a result of the divorce proceedings left the woman physically emaciated and distraught.
This would be further compounded by the fact that the premier quickly discontinued the relationship leaving the woman in the cold.
All these alleged sexual shenanigans by the premier have caused a lot of suffering in the women involved.
Recent reports in the media revealed that Ms Tembo allegedly attempted suicide after being overwhelmed by the emotional pressure of being continually snubbed by the PM.
Such is the level of psychological and physical torture that the women had to endure.
Such an unconcealed trail of women abuse has left me wondering if we still have any women rights organisations in this country.
How can such blatant abuses occur under their nose?
Why are they not registering their displeasure at such rabid abuse of the womenfolk?
What lessons is the Prime Minister passing to our young generations on HIV and Aids prevention and the use of condoms?
Surely, these activists should find something amiss with the premier's behaviour considering that we are trying to inculcate a sense of behaviour change in youths in our relentless bid to effectively torpedo the HIV scourge.
While the National Aids Council is busy preaching that "an HIV free generation begins with you", the premier is conversely and unashamedly trying to show that the responsibility does not start with him.
Considering that the fight against HIV is gobbling thousands in scarce dollars, it must be admitted that the PM's palpable antagonism to global efforts to tame the pernicious virus made the whole effort more expensive. The premier has irresponsibly demonstrated that he is an antagonistic force in the fight against HIV and Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases. He comes across as reversing some gargantuan steps we have made towards the prevention and management of the devastating disease.
For a national leader, his behavior is purely unacceptable and scandalous and thus should have attracted spontaneous outcries from women organisations. We still await Jenni Williams and her WOZA counterparts to come out and denounce such a blatant abuse of women by the premier.
It is not also late for Betty Makoni and other prominent women activists to similarly lampoon the PM for his unbecoming behaviour.
I hope we will not be made to believe that these organisations are actually afraid to raffle the feathers of their donors who happen to be the drivers behind Tsvangirai's MDC-T project.
Could it be that they have acquiesced to spurious claims by Tsvangirai that all his sexual misdemeanors have been surreptitiously orchestrated by state agents?
Only the docile will believe such hogwash.
Does he want us to believe that these state agents practically opened his zippers all the times he deceptively waylaid his cornucopia of unsuspecting victims?
Did the imagined state agents also take away all condoms from the supposedly helpless premier?
Maybe the same agents have even coerced MDC-T officials into releasing corroborative statements that averred that the premier had indeed indulged in unprotected sexual encounters that led to the paying of damages to some families.
I think it is high time the premier stops such vain and puerile attempts to duck what is squarely due to him.
His moral blameworthiness is unquestionable.
He should face up to his philandering antics and duly ask for forgiveness for misleading the youths into believing that condoms have outlived their use.
If he still has any conscience, I feel the beleaguered leader should just resign as he has dismally failed to manage his personal life and thus could not effectively manage a sprawling and challenge-filled country like Zimbabwe.
His behaviour flies in the face of a statement by NAC public relations officer, Orirando Manwere, who on the occasion of commemorating the World Aids Day said: "This year's commemorations are targeting at ensuring that leaders across all sectors should ensure that new infections, stigma and discrimination as well as Aids-related deaths are reduced".
Leaders wield immense power to promote behaviour change, but Mr Tsvangirai's behaviour could inexorably fan the spread of HIV in our youths.
------------
Tendai Moyo is a social commentator based in Harare.
Here is an irrefutable case where a whole Prime Minister of a country is using his political eminence to sexually subdue powerless women.
In the wake of these amorous escapades, some women were allegedly impregnated while others, if not all of them, were left to ponder their bleak future after being used as dispensable sexual objects.
Judging by reports that Mr Tsvangirai impregnated some of the women, we will be forgiven to conclude that the premier is having unprotected sex with his widening network of women associates.
Such behaviour exposes the women and the premier himself to HIV infection.
The virus could also be passed on to unborn children.
Not only were the women and the premier exposed to HIV infection, but they were also at high risk of also contracting other sexually-transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and other spine-chilling and life sucking preventable diseases.
To those who are aware of the development of cervical cancer in women, they would also testify that the premier was concomitantly exposing these women to infection by the not so talked about Human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
HPV infections are known to be the most frequently transmitted sexual diseases in the world.
These infections invariably occur in people who practice unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners.
It is also disheartening to note that after allegedly impregnating Ms Lorcadia Karimatsenga Tembo, the Prime Minister was quick to pay damages in acknowledgement of his culpability but then immediately abandoned her to scrounge for the survival of the children.
Notwithstanding the health-related dangers to which the women were exposed to, some married women saw their marriages being wrecked as a result of their relationship with the premier.
The publicised divorce case between Acquelina Mberi and her husband in Bulawayo is one of the cases in point.
It is undeniable that the psychological trauma that arose as a result of the divorce proceedings left the woman physically emaciated and distraught.
This would be further compounded by the fact that the premier quickly discontinued the relationship leaving the woman in the cold.
All these alleged sexual shenanigans by the premier have caused a lot of suffering in the women involved.
Recent reports in the media revealed that Ms Tembo allegedly attempted suicide after being overwhelmed by the emotional pressure of being continually snubbed by the PM.
Such is the level of psychological and physical torture that the women had to endure.
Such an unconcealed trail of women abuse has left me wondering if we still have any women rights organisations in this country.
How can such blatant abuses occur under their nose?
What lessons is the Prime Minister passing to our young generations on HIV and Aids prevention and the use of condoms?
Surely, these activists should find something amiss with the premier's behaviour considering that we are trying to inculcate a sense of behaviour change in youths in our relentless bid to effectively torpedo the HIV scourge.
While the National Aids Council is busy preaching that "an HIV free generation begins with you", the premier is conversely and unashamedly trying to show that the responsibility does not start with him.
Considering that the fight against HIV is gobbling thousands in scarce dollars, it must be admitted that the PM's palpable antagonism to global efforts to tame the pernicious virus made the whole effort more expensive. The premier has irresponsibly demonstrated that he is an antagonistic force in the fight against HIV and Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases. He comes across as reversing some gargantuan steps we have made towards the prevention and management of the devastating disease.
For a national leader, his behavior is purely unacceptable and scandalous and thus should have attracted spontaneous outcries from women organisations. We still await Jenni Williams and her WOZA counterparts to come out and denounce such a blatant abuse of women by the premier.
It is not also late for Betty Makoni and other prominent women activists to similarly lampoon the PM for his unbecoming behaviour.
I hope we will not be made to believe that these organisations are actually afraid to raffle the feathers of their donors who happen to be the drivers behind Tsvangirai's MDC-T project.
Could it be that they have acquiesced to spurious claims by Tsvangirai that all his sexual misdemeanors have been surreptitiously orchestrated by state agents?
Only the docile will believe such hogwash.
Does he want us to believe that these state agents practically opened his zippers all the times he deceptively waylaid his cornucopia of unsuspecting victims?
Did the imagined state agents also take away all condoms from the supposedly helpless premier?
Maybe the same agents have even coerced MDC-T officials into releasing corroborative statements that averred that the premier had indeed indulged in unprotected sexual encounters that led to the paying of damages to some families.
I think it is high time the premier stops such vain and puerile attempts to duck what is squarely due to him.
His moral blameworthiness is unquestionable.
He should face up to his philandering antics and duly ask for forgiveness for misleading the youths into believing that condoms have outlived their use.
If he still has any conscience, I feel the beleaguered leader should just resign as he has dismally failed to manage his personal life and thus could not effectively manage a sprawling and challenge-filled country like Zimbabwe.
His behaviour flies in the face of a statement by NAC public relations officer, Orirando Manwere, who on the occasion of commemorating the World Aids Day said: "This year's commemorations are targeting at ensuring that leaders across all sectors should ensure that new infections, stigma and discrimination as well as Aids-related deaths are reduced".
Leaders wield immense power to promote behaviour change, but Mr Tsvangirai's behaviour could inexorably fan the spread of HIV in our youths.
------------
Tendai Moyo is a social commentator based in Harare.
Source - zimpapers
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