Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN) joins the rest of the world in commemorating International Women’s Day under the theme Be Bold For Change. This year’s celebrations present us a chance to reflect on extraordinary and unpaid roles that women play in our communities as well as our country and also to reflect on women’s struggle for gender equality.
In Zimbabwe women’s human rights continue to be violated and abused hampering their progress in all spheres of life. Women who are involved in activism continue to suffer persecution and torture at the hands of state and security agents who are supposed to be protecting them. Female vendors are also being tortured and harassed by the police day and night.
Women continue to suffer all forms of violence in their lives, domestic violence at homes, sexual assault in the streets and at work, rape, emotional and economic abuse. This is totally unacceptable and must end.
Zimbabwe still records a high rate of maternal deaths due to poor health care facilities. Young girls both in rural and urban areas are not attending school due to financial constraints. It is very sad that after 37 years of Independence women are still lagging behind in all spheres of life and their constitutional rights are being violated by those whom they look up to for protection
CCDN calls upon the government of Zimbabwe to guarantee women’s political rights and freedom from torture as enshrined in the Constitution and to provide quality health care services free of charge for pregnant women and also to ensure the provision for education services to all young girls.
To all women and girls in Zimbabwe CCDN encourages you to be BOLD and to stand UP for your human rights. As an organization we pledge to continue empowering women and girls with human rights knowledge as it is the only way to protect their rights, for them to realize their full potential.
