CSOs driving UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign

The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV) is an international campaign that commences on 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and ends on 10 December (Human Rights Day). Originally created by activists, it continues to be coordinated each year by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership.

The United Nations supports this civil society-led campaign through the “United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign (UNiTE)”. The UNiTE campaign utilizes the colour orange to represent a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls, as a unifying theme running through all of its global activities. The Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD), Just Associates, Zimbabwe Coalition of Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST) have come together to use visual arts in Commemoration of 16 Days against Gender-based Violence.

On Friday 26 November 2021, the consortium will host the premiere of the film production, Ndafunga Kure, a short movie series that uses the lens of the everyday community to theatrically stage a viewpoint on the issues that affect women and girls. The premiere will be held at Ster Kinekor Borrowdale. Whilst it is strictly by invite due to the COVID-19 regulations, the film will be screened on various social media channels.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY4M3I5fVIA

The film, a star-studded production stars Anthony Tongai, Stewart Sakarombe, Stelhah January, Charles Kamara, Felstus Tizora among other new and established actors. Created by Tirivashe Mundondo, the movie was produced by TBGA – LightImages and was directed by the award-winning Zimbabwean filmmaker Melgin Tafirenyika. The film soundtrack was performed by Kelvin VITO Tapi, the Zvachose maestro of the Chamhembe era who is one-third of the contemporary band Trinity.

The Production – 16 days (The Series)

A 16 episode series of short movies with a continuing sequence whose content deliberately weaves in our areas of convergence as per the goals of our campaigns above. The movie will feature a mixed cast and one episode will be widely circulated from 25 November to 10 December to achieve the following :

The Objectives and Outcomes

• Create awareness – among young women, women, men, and the society at large about GBV and other forms of violence, its roots and causes, how they have increased during the COVID-19 crisis;
• Communities and organisations and power-holders share strategies – to prevent, respond and address GBV and the other increased gender inequalities.
• Advocate – for gender equality as means to prevent any form of GBV.

The Expected Outcomes are:

• Communities and organisations sharing experiences on gender based violence ;
• Communities and organisations and power-holders commit to adopt strategies to strengthen preventive mechanisms as well as accountability and justice systems to bring perpetrators to book;
• Coordinated Advocacy Campaign developed end violence against women.

Memorable Quotes:

“Ndafunga Kure” awakens society to the reality of the pervasiveness of violence against women and girls. It shows how multi-dimensional the violence is, from physical, sexual, economic, psychological and emotional violence among others. Drawing from the 30th Anniversary theme marking the 2021 16Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence focusing on From Awareness to Accountability. The film amplifies the 7 #WhatWomenWant demands made by diverse Zimbabwean young women and women to end structural violence against women, and at the same time hold local and national government accountable on the issues.  Through collaborations with organisations like SAPST and ZIMCODD, we are also ensuring that tackling gender based violence is a collective responsibility and rewriting the narrative that women and girls are not only victims/survivors but powerful change agents who articulate their needs and wants to thrive in modern society is important”. Glanis Changachirere – Executive Director: IYWD

For me, Ndafunga Kure is a reflection of the untold story of women who suffer structural violence, exclusion, and gender-based violence based on where they have been positioned by the patriarchal system. The beauty of the battle is that women are finding a voice, one girl at a time. They are not just victims but survivors and champions of their destinies. Janet Zhou – Executive Director of ZIMCODD.

“The role of Parliament in efforts to eliminate all forms of Gender-based Violence cannot be overemphasised. Parliament should ensure the passing of laws that seek to deal with gender-based violence in all its facets. The oversight role of parliament on the implementation of laws and policies against gender based Violence needs to be strengthened”. Chengetai Kanyangu – SAPST

Movie titles are overrated and often cut out the real creators of the narrative. While the credit for creating this movie is aligned to my name, I take it with grace, conscious of the fact that such a story is a product of multiple narratives that we project as a society. – This is a story that most women relate to in silence.” Tirivashe Mundondo – Executive Producer / Director.

I have seen these things happen in my eyes, Ndafunda kure is an escape song from victimhood to survivor. Kevin VITO Tapi – Singer / Songwriter.

LightImages was named under the scriptural inspiration that we ought to be the light of the world. Knowing that this production shines a light on the societal injustices that women face is in itself a source of pride. Melgin Tafirenyika – Director.

Background and Context

The Zimbabwean context is currently characterised by a cocktail of manifestations forms of violence against women and girls from physical, emotional, economic, and structural violence to mention a few. The COVID-19 pandemic has left women and girls in a much more vulnerable position and has taken us two steps behind for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.

The risks of Gender-Based Violence continue to intensify in scale and scope whilst the population is exposed to degenerating food insecurity, political volatility, compounded by socio-economic hardships exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The national GBV Hotline (Musasa) has recorded a total of 6,832 GBV calls from the beginning of the Zimbabwean lockdown in March 2020 until the end of that same year. It is disheartening to learn that 94% of these phone calls were from women and girls.

Whilst the health sector in the country was already grappling with meeting the needs of all its citizens, the increase in the prevalence of GBV cases saw the health sector choking and spreading itself too thinly. Teenage pregnancies and child marriages continue to skyrocket given the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic crisis in the country.

The story of Memory Machaya, a 14-year-old girl married off, impregnated, and suffered maternal death continues to bring chills to one’s spine. Despite the Constitutional court ruling of 20 of January 2016 which abolished child marriages in Zimbabwe, the culprits in Memory’s case continue to roam the streets as if nothing happened. In the case Of Loveness Mudzuru And Ruvimbo Tsopodzi V Minister Of Justice, Legal & Parliamentary Affairs N.O And Others the court ordered: “With effect from 20 January 2016, no person, male or female, may enter into any marriage, including an unregistered customary law union or any other union including one arising out of religion or religious rite, before attaining the age of eighteen (18) years”. Nonetheless, the plight of the girl child continues to be a glaring reality. Reports of domestic violence, child marriages, violence by state officials, online abuse, and other forms of GBV have increased globally and regionally during the pandemic, and Zimbabwe is no exception to this trend.

The various manifestations of GBV in Zimbabwe do not however reflect a lack of legal frameworks to safeguard women and girls. Zimbabwe has various pieces of legislation that are meant to protect women and girls from GBV. The Constitution of Zimbabwe, the supreme law of the land guarantees women the right to life, personal liberty, security of the person, freedom from torture as well as personal security.

The Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16) is there to actualise constitutional provisions and attempts to address the following forms of violence: physical, emotional, sexual, economic, and emotional abuse. It is used alongside the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] which is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW without any reservations in 1991 and ratification took place in 1997.

The underlying spirit of the Convention is that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality and respect for human dignity and presents obstacles to the advancement of women in the political, social, economic, and cultural spheres. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development (SADC Gender Protocol) can’t be forgotten as it aims to provide for the empowerment of women, to eliminate discrimination and achieve gender equality by encouraging and harmonising the development and implementation of gender responsive legislation, policies and programmes and projects. However with all this legal muscle in place women and girls are still victims of GBV across the country.

Our Unified Response.

In pursuit of a world that is 100% free of Gender-Based Violence, we have curated 3 areas of convergence that form the basis of our context and film production these are:

1. What Women want – IYWD and JASS SNA: What Women Want is a campaign conceived by women’s organisations to make demands to power holders on 7 key issues that affect Zimbabwean women and the demands include (i) Public services and infrastructure that work, (ii) a Zimbabwe where economic needs are met in a just and equitable manner, (iii) a Zimbabwe where all women in their sexual diversities can fully exercise their sexual rights, (iv) bodily autonomy and agency without fear of reprisal or attack, (v) a Zimbabwe where women have a right to participate freely and meaningfully in all decision-making spaces and processes, (vi) deep accountability, (vii)a Zimbabwe where women are free to engage in the artistic expression without fear of reprisals.

2. He for She – SAPST: The realisation of a gender-sensitive parliament, based on the goal of gender equality in all its structures, processes, and procedures, requires the support and involvement of both female and male parliamentarians. Changing social values and reinforcing gender awareness among men is key to stronger partnerships between men and women on gender equality. Through its parliamentary support programme, SAPST seeks to support the implementation of the He for She campaign which was launched by the Parliament of Zimbabwe on the 5th of October 2016. The He for She campaign is a movement that seeks to ensure that responsibility for gender equality is shared by all parliamentarians, that is, men and women.

3. How Far – ZIMCODD: With HOWFAR, ZIMCODD is calling on all citizens to take interest and participate in the campaign which seeks to raise the public’s awareness on the lack of transparency and accountability by the Zimbabwean government on matters of public finance management. This campaign is central to ZIMCODD’s work under the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Public Finance Management (STAP) project which seeks to increase citizens’ oversight in accountability through information dissemination and increased platforms for engagement with solution holders.

The Production – _16 days (The Series)

A 16 episode series of short movies with a continuing sequence whose content deliberately weaves in our areas of convergence as per the goals of our campaigns above. The movie will feature a mixed cast and one episode will be widely circulated from 25 November to 10 December to achieve the following :

The Objectives and Outcomes

• Create awareness – among young women, women, men and the society at large about GBV and other forms of violence, its roots and causes, how they have increased during the COVID-19 crisis;
• Communities and organisations and power-holders share strategies – to prevent, respond and address GBV and the other increased gender inequalities.
• Advocate – for gender equality as means to prevent any form of GBV.

The Expected Outcomes are:

• Communities and organisations sharing experiences on gender-based violence ;
• Communities and organisations and power-holders commit to adopting strategies to strengthen preventive mechanisms as well as accountability and justice systems to bring perpetrators to book;
• Coordinated Advocacy Campaign developed to end violence against women.