Women Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe 1 Chapter 1 Women Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe 1. Introduction The vision of contributing to attaining a democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe has motivated many women to advocate, through different means and in different ways, for their rights and the rights of others within their communities and beloved country. As such, in this capacity women are human rights defenders (HRDs). A human rights defender is: “a person who on their own or collectively with others works to assert their economic, social, cultural, civil, political rights as enshrined in the constitution and human right instruments”1 and this is done through “peaceful means”.2 The typical woman human rights defender (woman HRD) that this publication focuses on is one who asserts her rights as a human being first, and then as a woman, knowing full well that she bears the brunt of a breakdown of the human rights fulfilment matrix directly or indirectly. The typical woman HRD asserts her right to equality and freedom from violence and helps vulnerable members of society, such as children, to also assert their rights, be it to identity, family life, education and so on. There are primarily three types of women HRDs in Zimbabwe. The first model are the “action-oriented” women HRDs, often versatile and forthright, who directly challenge the system. These women assert their rights and the rights of others (mainly their loved ones, or even their communities) through practical action. They are either willing to be litigants or, through their profession, assist others to assert their rights (see Chapter 3). The “supporter” women HRDs will not act on their own, but quietly support those asserting their rights directly or indirectly. They understand the cause that other HRDs are advancing and fully support the cause at any cost. The supporters will selflessly assist the action-oriented women, men, boys or girls who are asserting, or attempting to assert, their rights. The last women HRDs, and perhaps the least known, are “bystanders”, who neither actively participate nor support the cause, but associate or identify themselves with the cause. In any society, HRDs play a vital role in the promotion and protection of fundamental social, economic, civil, political and cultural rights. HRDs working in Zimbabwe continue to face challenges, as their capacity to carry out their legitimate activities of promoting and protecting fundamental rights and freedoms continue to be severely curtailed. Executive excesses, impunity for human rights violations, erosion of the rule of law and the failure to promote, protect and fulfil human rights obligations voluntarily assented to by the government, continue to haunt HRDs. State agents continue to deny the critical positive role played by HRDs in the country. For women HRDs, the denial becomes multifaceted. Available at <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Defender.aspx> [Last accessed 27 February 2015]. 1 2 As above, “peaceful means”is a criteria included by the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR).