WUNRN
ZIMBABWE
- Activists Demand Justice for Politically-Motivated Rapes
Davison Makanga
HARARE, Nov 15 (IPS) - "I was raped by four Zanu PF
militias at night, just outside their base, during the elections. They took
turns to rape me, accusing me of supporting the opposition, MDC [Movement for
Democratic Change]", said Pauline Moyana* from Mutasa, a community in
Zimbabwe’s eastern Manicaland province.
"They threatened to kill me and my family, so I had no
choice but to give in to their demands", she added. Moyana’s homestead was
destroyed and her livestock killed as "punishment" for her alleged
political affiliation.
Another woman, 53-year-old Sophie Makore* from Hurungwe in
northern Zimbabwe, says she has lost hope following a gruesome experience at
the hands of Zanu PF activists. A few months ago, militia men stripped her
naked and raped her multiple times. Like in Moyana's situation, the
perpetrators told her she was being penalised for supporting the opposition
party.
Moyana and Makore's testimonies are only two of many women’s
accounts from rural Zimbabwe that have taken place during the bloody and
controversial presidential election rerun held this June. One woman from
eastern Zimbabwe was drained by a doctor of 250 millilitres of semen after
having been gang raped for three days.
Stories of brutal militia raping young girls and women old
enough to be their mothers and burning of houses of MDC supporters are now
being recorded by a group of women rights activists who want to bring
perpetrators to justice at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
So far, only one man has been jailed for the rapes that have
taken place during the last few months. He was sentenced for 22 years in
south-western Zimbabwe's town of Masvingo.
Well-known Zimbabwean activist Betty Makoni recently formed
the Zimbabwe Rape Survivors Association (ZRPS), an organisation that records
women’s politically motivated rape cases, lobbies for legal justice and
rehabilitates rape survivors at a safe house in neighboring Botswana, as many
women, out of fear of retribution, are too scared to testify in Zimbabwe.
"Most women were attacked physically but also suffered
spiritual damage. They are afraid of going back to their villages," says
Makoni. "The women are highly traumatised and, what makes matters worse,
ostracised by local communities."
"The pattern of the cases is that of systematic
political persecution. Testimonies from women reveal how army chiefs and Zanu
PF militias deliberately embarked on a campaign against MDC supporters. We are
talking of state-sanctioned violence here," she added.
ZRPS cooperates with a team of lawyers from US-based
advocacy organisation AIDS-Free World to gather evidence and seek legal
recourse through international or regional courts. Makoni said ZRPS will take
the cases to courts outside of Zimbabwe, because the country’s legal system
does not have a history of trying cases of human rights violations in a
transparent manner.
"So far, we have assisted some 150 rape survivors, and
20 have given us evidence for our case affidavits. We are working hard on
bringing all culprits before justice", said Makoni, revealing that,
already 180 men, mainly army officers, have been listed as respondents.
AIDS-Free World co-director Paula Donovan told IPS she
believes the systematic and widespread nature of the rapes will make a strong
submission in court, even though Zimbabwe is not party to the Rome Statutes of
the ICC, which tries persons accused of crimes against humanity.
" What has become clear is that such widespread nature
of the sexual violence constitutes crimes against humanity. We know Zimbabwe is
not a signatory to the International Criminal Court Convention, so [if the
cases will be not heart by the ICC] there are many avenues of pursuing them,
for example by getting a referral from the United Nations Security
Council", explained Donovan.
If the United Nations Security Council agrees in an
unanimous vote that the cases are of gravity, it will open the doors for
Zimbabwean government officials to be prosecuted, except for the country’s
president, who retains immunity. The accused can be charged under universal,
regional jurisdiction of countries party to the international treaty of crimes
against humanity.
Donovan says another option is to bring the cases before the
Africa Court on Human and People's Rights, although it was worrying that the
court has not tried a single case in the ten years since establishment. Another
stumbling block is that only 24 of 53 African Union member countries have
ratified the protocol creating the court in 1998. Rights groups blame
bureaucracy and lack of political will for the delay in justice.
"It’s unfortunate that justice processes are slow but
the women want their cases tried, whatever it takes," said Donovan.
Activists say it is crucial that the cases are brought to
court so that women’s rights can be restored in a country that has committed
itself to Millennium Development Goal 3, which aims to create gender equality
and empower women.
Netsai Mushonga, coordinator of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe
said state-sanctioned violence against women does not bear well for Zimbabwe’s
efforts towards women's empowerment. "What is happening in our country is
a total disregard of women. Our leaders [who have sanctioned violence against
women] should be taken to task", she said.
The claims of Zimbabwean rights organisations have found
support from multiple international human rights bodies. Amnesty International
last month called for judicial justice for all perpetrators of state-sponsored
violence in Zimbabwe, lamenting that human rights violations with impunity are
on the increase. Another human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch, reported
that sporadic violence is on the rise in the wake of the unity government
stalemate between Zanu-PF and MDC.
*Not their real names.
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