Many of Zimbabwe’s 1.3 million orphans have been affected by the operation. These include orphans who had been living in orphanages which have now been destroyed; orphans left alone because guardians are forced to look for accommodation or take care of other family members; and street children rounded up and placed in institutions and transit camps.76 The forced placement of street children into institutions meant for delinquents is generally not considered appropriate under international humanitarian standards such as the Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children. It recommends that institutionalization of unaccompanied and separated children should be avoided in favour of community and family-based care. 77 According to UN agencies working on child protection in Zimbabwe, there have been reports that some children are being prevented from enrolling at schools in rural areas because they cannot obtain letters of transfer from their previous school, which may no longer be in operation. In some cases, these letters are reportedly being withheld until all overdue fees and levies are paid. As most heavily affected households have had both their home and their source of livelihood destroyed, they are unlikely to be able to raise the necessary funds. 3.6.8 Women and Girls Already socially and economically disadvantaged, many women and girls have suffered greatly and been rendered more vulnerable through the sudden loss of homes and livelihoods. Single mothers, widows and mothers with sick or disabled children have been put in a particularly difficult situation. While households are being encouraged to “return” to the rural areas, many widows, divorcees and those married to men of foreign origin do not have a rural home to go to.78 In Sukubva, Mutare, the mission met a 44-year old woman living in the open with her 4 children. She said she is of Zimbabwean origin, but would not go back to her rural home, even though she had lost her home as well as her work trading vegetables, because that would mean that her children would have to drop out of school. Now she and her children were sleeping in the open on the remnants of the foundation that used to be their home. With nocturnal temperatures as low as 8Celsius, the family was huddled around an open fire. “Our family stays around the fire until we run out of wood, and then we fall asleep from sheer exhaustion – and hope to wake up alive” An estimated 40,800 families directly affected by the operation were headed by women. The mission heard testimony from many female-headed households severely affected by the demolitions. For example, a widow with a 6-year old disabled son and a 5-month old baby explained how her home had been demolished and her informal business destroyed during the Operation. 79 She had previously been selling tomatoes in the market, but was now unemployed. A friend had provided temporary shelter, but the loss of livelihood had made the small family destitute. Other single mothers explained how family and friends in many cases had proffered shelter at first, but later been obliged to give priority to close family members as the scale of the crisis grew. 76 “Interim United Nations Multi-Sectoral Response Plan to the Recent Evictions in Zimbabwe”, 27 June 2005. 77 See Art. 4 of Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children. 78 Confidential submission. 79 Story shared during consultation of the Special Envoy with women’s organizations on 30 June 2005. 43