5 Case studies Grandmother denied access to food Costa is a 64-year-old widow from Matabeleland South province. She is a carer of six orphaned grandchildren aged between three and 18. She survives by subsistence farming and by working in other people’s fields. Since 2002 she has been denied access to GMB food by local politicians who suspect her of being an MDC supporter. She has repeatedly appealed to the local councillor in the area and has been told on each occasion that she cannot be registered to buy GMB maize because she criticises the ruling party. Costa decided to join the activist organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) to protest against her victimisation. WOZA campaigns on social justice issues including equal access to food, healthcare and education. Widow waits three years for state pension Sidumiso (36) is the mother of two children. She is an activist with the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET), a national NGO which campaigns against political violence. She told Amnesty International that she decided to become a human rights defender after the death of her husband in the Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2000. Her husband was serving with the Zimbabwe National Army. The army did not tell her of her husband’s death until two weeks after he had died. When his body was repatriated to Zimbabwe, the family was not allowed to view it – which contravenes local custom. After the death of her husband, Sidumiso had no other source of income to support her family. She did not receive her first widow’s pension from the army until August 2003, more than three years after her husband’s death. Her grief for the loss of a husband in a war which she feels was unnecessary, and the manner in which her family was treated by the army, led her to join a human rights organization as a platform to demand justice and campaign for an end to violence. Women farm labourers working for pittance Women who work on farms are routinely denied a wage which would secure them a decent living and are vulnerable to other rights abuses. A woman farm labourer from the farming town of Chegutu told Amnesty International that she earns Z$4,000 per month. "I cannot buy anything with that except a soft drink," she told Amnesty International. She has one child and cannot afford education fees. She decided to join the GAPWUZ to mobilise other farm labourers and campaign for better wages. Survivor of repeated forced evictions and police brutality Irene’s family was forcibly evicted from a farm in Matabeleland North province in 2002 during the fast-track land reform programme, when the farm where she lived with her grandfather, a farm labourer, was taken by the government and given to a supporter of the ruling party. The family relocated to Bulawayo. Soon after that, her father died (her mother was already deceased by the time), and Irene was left to fend for herself and six siblings. She became a vegetable vendor in order to earn money to buy food, pay rent and support her siblings’ education. In 2005 her rented home in Bulawayo was destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina, when the government demolished backyard structures without providing alternative shelter for the affected people. She now lives in a single room with all her siblings in a high density suburb in Bulawayo. She finds it increasingly difficult to sell vegetables – her sole source of income – as she and other vendors are repeatedly arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Bulawayo municipal police. The vendors have their goods confiscated and are at times made to pay fines. She decided to join other women in her community, and takes part in peaceful demonstrations organised by WOZA. Irene has been arrested at least eight times after engaging in peaceful protest as a member of WOZA. In August 2006 Irene was arrested in Bulawayo during a peaceful march to the offices of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). The march was organised by WOZA to protest against the abuse of women and the arbitrary seizure of money by police and youth militia at road blocks established by the RBZ and police to enforce the new currency switch. Irene was kicked above the navel by a police officer during the arrest. At the time she was two months pregnant. She was later detained overnight at Bulawayo Central police station, where she noticed that she was bleeding. Other women protesters detained with her alerted the police officer on night duty that Irene was bleeding and that they feared she could miscarry. The police officer reportedly told the detained women that "that would serve her [Irene] right as she was doing things [demonstrating] she should not be doing." The following morning Irene requested to be given water to clean herself but she was refused. She also asked to be taken to hospital and was reportedly told that she should wait for her lawyer. When the lawyer came she was unable to see him because she had been taken for questioning in another room. The lawyer was not allowed to consult with each of the detained women. Only after her release did Irene receive medical care through a private hospital with the assistance of WOZA. She