Introduction Policymakers increasingly realise that a democratic and developmental state that internalises the norms of human rights cannot be created unless the grievances of the past are addressed. There is no future without a past, as the present and the future are shaped by what has gone before. Recognising this, the purpose of this paper is to map the needs of women in Zimbabwe’s national healing process and to examine these needs within the theme of transitional justice. The paper aims to offer policymakers insights that they can use to drive the inclusion of gender justice within transitional justice processes. Written against the background of rising expectations, fears and anxieties about Zimbabwe’s socio-political transition, and its potential for recovery from its grisly immediate past, this paper is founded on two intertwined arguments. The first is that many national healing processes fail to consider the needs of the victims of violent conflict, especially women (partly because transitional justice processes are often driven by elites who proscribe and institutionalise them). The second is that, in identifying and addressing women’s needs in the national healing agenda, Zimbabwe should aim to avoid the traps of transitional justice initiatives that have focused on the human-rights violations alone, and should focus also on the equally important arena of economic violations and psychosocial needs, as well as social and cultural rights that are intrinsically connected with sexual and gender-based violence (Mutua, 2008). This paper unpacks the national healing agenda using a women-centred lens. It aims to map the needs of women in holistic terms, and to convey their opinions and suggestions on how these needs can best be addressed. It also frames the genesis of Zimbabwe’s political and economic crises from 2000 to 2008 and provides insight into the vision and aspirations of women in Zimbabwe in relation to transformative transitional justice. A product of a deliberate process of engagement with women from various segments of Zimbabwean society, the research was conducted in Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo and Masvingo. Stratified and snowball techniques were used to locate respondents in both urban and rural settings. Almost all the participants were women and they were drawn from civilsociety organisations, members of parliament, lawyers, students from Africa University, and victims of the 2000 to 2008 political violence. The research data was collected between May and June 2011 using questionnaires, personal interviews and focus-group discussions. These methodologies allowed women from different socio-economic sectors to share their needs relative to the national healing agenda. Of 25 questionnaires distributed, 21 were completed and returned; 15 personal interviews and 4 focus-group discussions took place. Before discussing the findings of the research, I begin with a brief analysis of the violence experienced by women in Zimbabwe, and relate this to Zimbabwe’s need for national healing and transitional justice. I show that such processes will only be effective if women are included in the relevant decision-making structures and processes. 1 IJR Zimbabwe Womens needs OP proof 2.indd 1 7/16/2012 11:01:30 AM