News / National
Don't forget the suffering of Zim women - Zimbabwe People's Movement
07 Dec 2011 at 06:40hrs | Views
Manchester, United Kingdom - On Sunday, December 10, three African women, from Liberia, will receive the Nobel Peace Prize but Zimbabwe People's Movement has called on the world to recognize a continent where the rights of women and children are systematically abused.
Njabulo Ngwenya, (Co-ordinator) of ZPM said from Manchester United Kingdom, "Unicef recently reminded us that in Zimbabwe, a formerly prosperous country pillaged by President Robert Mugabe over his 31-year long reign, only 10 percent of children eat a nutritious meal. Unicef said too that: 'Diminished water and sanitation access, particularly in rural areas, means that 33 percent of all Zimbabweans must practice open defecation. Social and education limitations perpetuate violence, exploitation and the trafficking of children.'"
Ngwenya said, "We congratulate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman for what the Nobel committee calls "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work". But we implore the world to remember that the worst abuses of women occur not in war, but in countries at peace.
"In Zimbabwe, as an example, while the ruling elite live in luxury, the country's people live in poverty. And the rights of women are ignored, and this always endangers the future of children. Women in Zimbabwe constitute only 18% of Parliamentarians. In 2006, 47% of women in Zimbabwe reported having experienced physical or sexual violence. The maternal mortality rate in Zimbabwe rose from 390 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 790 women per 100,000 live births in 2008. And women make up 60% of adults aged 15-49 living with HIV and AIDS."
He hailed those women in Zimbabwe – and in the Zimbabwean diaspora in the United Kingdom – who have with scant credit and small resources fight for freedom for all Zimbabweans and increased rights for Zimbabwean women. ZPM specifically mentioned Nkosazana Magodonga Mahlanga and Jennie Williams from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) who have been fighting for social and human rights issues especially the rights of women. We also have Betty Makoni from Girl Child Network who is currently based in the United Kingdom but still significantly supporting and promoting girl rights, empowerment and education by reaching to and advancing the circumstances of females abused by men, some of whom are from the ruling ZANU-PF party. Bekezela Nsingo, is another woman who although she is living in the United Kingdom works tirelessly to uplift rural women and girls in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Peoples Movement would like to acknowledge woman activists who have been working tirelessly to liberate oppressed people across the world. As an organisation whose foundation is based on the protection and promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Zimbabwe and across Africa, we salute those individuals and organisations that further the values of humanism across the world.
We recognise the work of the current president of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Leymah Gbowee, peace activist responsible for leading a women' peace movement that brought an end to the second Liberian Civil War in 2003 and Takakkol Karman, a Yemini journalist and activist who is advocating for human rights and freedom of expression. The above three Nobel Peace Prize Winners whose work is shining across the world are being recognised for their motivation for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work. Their humanitarian work advocating for basic liberties and peace fulfils the foundation objectives of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the traditional ethos of women rights. ZPM believes all human beings are entitled to the same rights, regardless of gender, nationality, race, religion or political opinions.
ZPM appeals to Mugabe's regime to allow human rights in Zimbabwe and to work to boost its shattered economy. We plead with the international community to engage the Zimbabwean government in creating a prosperous and socially just nation that enjoys frequent fair and democratic elections.
Njabulo Ngwenya, (Co-ordinator) of ZPM said from Manchester United Kingdom, "Unicef recently reminded us that in Zimbabwe, a formerly prosperous country pillaged by President Robert Mugabe over his 31-year long reign, only 10 percent of children eat a nutritious meal. Unicef said too that: 'Diminished water and sanitation access, particularly in rural areas, means that 33 percent of all Zimbabweans must practice open defecation. Social and education limitations perpetuate violence, exploitation and the trafficking of children.'"
Ngwenya said, "We congratulate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman for what the Nobel committee calls "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work". But we implore the world to remember that the worst abuses of women occur not in war, but in countries at peace.
"In Zimbabwe, as an example, while the ruling elite live in luxury, the country's people live in poverty. And the rights of women are ignored, and this always endangers the future of children. Women in Zimbabwe constitute only 18% of Parliamentarians. In 2006, 47% of women in Zimbabwe reported having experienced physical or sexual violence. The maternal mortality rate in Zimbabwe rose from 390 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 790 women per 100,000 live births in 2008. And women make up 60% of adults aged 15-49 living with HIV and AIDS."
He hailed those women in Zimbabwe – and in the Zimbabwean diaspora in the United Kingdom – who have with scant credit and small resources fight for freedom for all Zimbabweans and increased rights for Zimbabwean women. ZPM specifically mentioned Nkosazana Magodonga Mahlanga and Jennie Williams from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) who have been fighting for social and human rights issues especially the rights of women. We also have Betty Makoni from Girl Child Network who is currently based in the United Kingdom but still significantly supporting and promoting girl rights, empowerment and education by reaching to and advancing the circumstances of females abused by men, some of whom are from the ruling ZANU-PF party. Bekezela Nsingo, is another woman who although she is living in the United Kingdom works tirelessly to uplift rural women and girls in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Peoples Movement would like to acknowledge woman activists who have been working tirelessly to liberate oppressed people across the world. As an organisation whose foundation is based on the protection and promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Zimbabwe and across Africa, we salute those individuals and organisations that further the values of humanism across the world.
We recognise the work of the current president of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Leymah Gbowee, peace activist responsible for leading a women' peace movement that brought an end to the second Liberian Civil War in 2003 and Takakkol Karman, a Yemini journalist and activist who is advocating for human rights and freedom of expression. The above three Nobel Peace Prize Winners whose work is shining across the world are being recognised for their motivation for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work. Their humanitarian work advocating for basic liberties and peace fulfils the foundation objectives of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the traditional ethos of women rights. ZPM believes all human beings are entitled to the same rights, regardless of gender, nationality, race, religion or political opinions.
ZPM appeals to Mugabe's regime to allow human rights in Zimbabwe and to work to boost its shattered economy. We plead with the international community to engage the Zimbabwean government in creating a prosperous and socially just nation that enjoys frequent fair and democratic elections.
Source - ZPM
