By Rejoice Ngwenya -Harare based political economist
Before feminist fundamentalists hurl proverbial shrapnel at me, I
implore them to read beyond my provocative heading. Blind fury,
senseless ire is the opium of the unenlightened. If you are of weak
gender predisposition, allergic to straight ‘flash lithography’ talk,
you might as well terminate your literary frolic here. I acknowledge
the proliferation of ordinary Zimbabwean women daily confronting
hunger, poverty, pain, abuse and suffering caused by but not
necessarily limited to the inept militarised governance of ZANU-PF.
Women lay down their lives to challenge authoritarian hegemony,
partisan food aid and de-humanising violence since Gukurahundi up to
the life-sapping June 2008 elections.
My problem is with their political emissaries who wield superficial
influence. It is no longer fashionable to proffer patriarchy as an
excuse for exclusion. My point is simple. In order to end gender-based
violence and oppression, women must have the capacity to infiltrate
and control the manner in which government operates. In fact, they
must be government. They ought to wield the very power to determine
the destiny and the fate of the citizens they want to immunise against
the venom of abuse. Voting for the ‘right’ man is not good enough.
Being Vice President, deputy Prime Minister, Secretary General or even
Minister is not sufficient. The Zimbabwean woman must be Prime
Minister, National or party President. Be the change that you want.
Show me that woman, that single brave woman who can say – at the next
elective party congress – I want to challenge for presidential
candidature. Show me a Zimbabwean Helen Zille; an Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf; a Joyce Banda. Give me the privilege of hearing Joyce Mujuru
proclaiming in Gweru: “Hey, you know what, this should now end. My
name must be on the next ZANU-PF presidential ballot paper.” I want
to be in a room where Thokozani Khupe raises her hand to say: “People,
I don’t care what you think; it’s my turn now to head MDC-T.” Would it
not be refreshing to look Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga straight in
the eye as she concludes “thank you colleagues for allowing me to run
as MDC party president”? Get me in the same zone with Emilia
Mukaratirwa beaming: “This is a great moment in history – ZAPU is now
led by me, the woman of first choice.” Zimbabwe, show me that woman.
Not in sixteen years, sixteen months, sixteen days, not in one day,
but now. That to me is ultimate woman activism – the activism of
control – transformative, earth shattering, gravity defying political
control.
Without power – real political power - Zimbabwean women will forever
languish in the fumes spewed by the masculine prejudices of Morgan
Tsvangirayi, Welshman Ncube, Dumiso Dabengwa and Robert Mugabe. They
will expend energy to gather crumbs – stale for that matter – from the
foot of the patriachial political table. Neither education, nor
profession; neither enthusiasm nor loud singing; neither high decibel
advocacy nor a seat in the United Nations Security Council – can save
Zimbabwean women from oppression until they control government.
Without being ‘head of state and government, commander in chief’ –
Zimbabwean women political ‘leaders’ are nothing but another perfect
gift from God to men.
Power, unlike beauty, in not in the eye of the beholder, it is in the
hands of the wielder. Zimbabwean women hear me: you will only move
mountains if you leverage the power in your hands. If a Zimbabwean
woman is not a president or a prime minister, sixteen days will blur
into sixteen weeks, sixteen months, sixteen years, and sixteen
centuries – before they determine their own destiny.
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