SW Radio Africa (London)
Alex Bell
3 November 2008
As desperate Zimbabweans continue to fight a daily battle to survive, a group of young refugee women have taken their struggle against the Robert Mugabe regime to the streets of South Africa.
The group of up to fifty women at a time has been picketing outside South Africa's Union Buildings in Pretoria since last week, in protest against the ongoing violence and abuse of women by Zimbabwe's state agents. The country's women were not only brutally beaten and tortured alongside the men during the violent aftermath of the March presidential elections, but the women were often also raped and sexually abused by ZANU PF militia.
Sox Chikohwero, a Zimbabwe rights activist based in South Africa, has helped organise the picket outside the Union Buildings - the site of the South African President's office and a favourite tourist destination in the country. He explained on Wednesday that up to 85 percent of the Zimbabwean women involved in the picket are survivors of rape, torture and beatings at the hands of ZANU PF.
"These women fled to South Africa to escape torture, but the leaders of this country have done nothing to stop the ongoing abuse in Zimbabwe," Chikohwero explained. "The picket outside the Union Buildings is a chance for the women to air their grievances to President Kgalema Mothlanthe."
Mothlanthe recently took over the role as the country's leader after Thabo Mbkei was forced to resign by the country's ruling ANC. Mbeki has faced severe criticism for his bias towards Mugabe and his 'softly-softly' approach to the raging crisis in Zimbabwe. President Mothlanthe, as the country's leader, as well as the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has inherited a tainted position and pressure has been growing on him to make amends for Mbeki's failures.
"The women want Mothlanthe to put his house, that is SADC, in order to make a strong move in Zimbabwe," Chikohwero explained.
The picket will continue until the 9th December, and will be followed by a mass demonstration and rally outside the Union Buildings on the 10th.
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