Grace disgraced Women's month of August

The month of August in Africa and in many other places is a specially designated and apportion month for women. This is a show of appreciation to women for their amazing strengths throughout the ages when the menfolk deemed them subhuman. Women's day is a day when women are recognized for their achievements on merit. This is an acknowledgement that women are equal to men and deserve to be treated with utmost respect without regard to artificial divisions, whether be they race, national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

That being said, women across should expect all the above to be respected and women should also have respect for one another. I suppose one cannot expect respect if they are not showing any. Having said that respect should never be misused to abuse women, respect is a two-way street, it is reciprocal and it is earned. We are alive to the tendencies which are said to be cultural which are used to suppress women. In many cultures women are the centre of their communities' lives and their pivot on which all things good revolves and proceed.

This brings me to a very sensitive issue at the moment, the woman they call "amai Grace Mugabe".  I say "they" because unfortunately to me she is not worthy to be called amai or mother. See a mother is a protector, she loves, she shows kindness, she grooms. Am sorry to say those characteristics are just not in Grace Mugabe. The woman is like a raging bull and raving lunatic and any give chance she gets she is cursing and causing havoc. This is not the first incident of Grace beating up someone, I hope am not the only one that remembers Grace beating up a reporter/s. I can remember a few incidents actually, there was an incident in Singapore, In Hong Kong, In Malaysia, in Dubai, in Zimbabwe I shouldn't even be mentioning and now the latest she has just gone and embarrassed herself in South Africa. This is the woman who is said to be owning an orphanage, now tell me the risks which the children are put through, it is obvious that they are abused and such centres world-over have become places of sexual abuse. It is doubtful that Grace would do anything to effectively protect the children if they were abused in any shape or form, but he will seek to protect her workers. The dastard act she did in South Africa is instructive and the relevant authorities should be closely looking at goings on at her orphanage with a view of shutting it permanently.

This is a true example of power going to someone's head so much they think they are untouchable. Oh! Wait, maybe she is untouchable, how many of us can do what she has done and get away with it? Is this woman the only woman that is a first lady of a country? Why is it that some first ladies do not show this disgraceful character and behaviour? Makes you wonder how she sleeps at night.

Police are supposed to serve and protect every citizen, one wonders why this woman was allowed to commit such a crime and get away with it. I say she got away because I believe if she was an ordinary citizen she would be in a prison cell as we speak. But as famous as she is, one can't believe that Grace is in hiding and then you hear rumours that she is in Harare? For goodness sake!! You tell me how she flew home? Did nobody know she had committed such an offence against another woman? Then there are issues being discussed about diplomatic immunity??  Grace does not qualify for diplomatic immunity, she was in South Africa on private business not on government mission. Diplomatic immunity is not sexually transmitted like Grace's PhD. What happened to human rights? And women's rights? Not even on women's month? Or is women's month for the few and not the many? If that is the case then Happy women's month Grace Mugabe and your fellow acquaintances, I hope one day some of our voices will be heard.

As a ZAWU representative I am ashamed that you represent women from my country. This is definitely NOT the kind of behaviour a "mother of the nation" is supposed to be parading. Maybe you should look into the behaviour of omama uMafuyane, omama uLesabe, omama uMakhumalo oh and yes the shoes you stepped into umamSally. Stop being a DisGrace.

ZAWU Europe chairlady