2 In Their Capacity as Human Rights Defenders: Women According to the 2013 Zimbabwe Census report, there are 6 780 700 females as compared to 6 280 539 males in Zimbabwe. Therefore the demographics of Zimbabwe show that women constitute at least 52 per cent of the population. Due to their numbers, they naturally have a critical role to play in ensuring that their rights, as enshrined in the human rights instruments that the Government of Zimbabwe has voluntarily ratified or to which it has acceded, are not only promoted, but also protected and respected. Further, due to their caring role, they have a role in ensuring that rights of other vulnerable members of the community that look to them for protection and support are also upheld. They therefore find themselves calling on the government to not only protect and promote the rights of women, but also other rights in general. In terms of enjoying mainstream human rights, and just like their male counterparts, women face various challenges. Key amongst them is their anatomy, their subordinate role because of patriarchy, their gender roles and their economic status as this group has generally been marginalised over the years. 1.1 Why women HRDs? Although HRDs in Zimbabwe have been generally susceptible to harassment for exercising their rights and carrying out their legitimate activities in the past, the position of women HRDs has been and remains precarious. First, they are women – and then HRDs. They face challenges that are fuelled by perceptions, gender stereotypes, and gendered roles that society has ascribed to them because of their status as women. Due to the nature of rights that the majority of women advocate for, they often challenge these gender stereotypes, cultural norms and traditions. In some instances the rights they advocate for include change in the private sphere or homes (and communities) in which they live. In some cases men do not support these initiatives, as they are used to, and will do anything to maintain, their dominant position in society. Consequently, the peculiar nature of violations against women HRDs is multifaceted and often gruesome. Women HRDs have also been the target of systematic direct and indirect state sponsored repression, attacks and general human rights violations. Heinous crimes that include but are not limited to sexual, physical, psychological and other despicable attacks are perhaps some of the reminiscences that will continue to haunt women HRDs day and night. The prevailing conservative and patriarchal views of the community in general towards women often disadvantage women who are defending human rights in the public sphere. Those working on women’s rights or other gender related issues, such as equal representation in political spaces or other positions of power and combating domestic violence, are also not protected from further security and safety issues within the home or communities and during interactions with state actors in state institutions. For the women who are asserting other mainstream human rights, at times they are viewed as “busybodies”; “they want to act like men”; denigrating comments that “they are men pretending to be women” become commonplace. While these attitudes are entrenched generally in society, there has been no distinction between public and private space for women who are on the frontline of protecting HRDs. As a result, the role of women in the home has been equated to the workplace with no distinction on the nature of space occupied, or activities carried out. Women are regarded as subordinate to men.