WOZA wows Zimfest

when she receives an affirmative answer she says: “Don’t worry, we are working hard so that you can come back soon.” Her optimism is all the more remarkable considering that she has been arrested more times than she cares to remember and the members of WOZA are under constant threat from the police.
She recounts the story of the most recent abduction of six WOZA members, one of whom had a one-year-old baby. They were taken by Police to the bush around Khami Ruins about 40 km outside Bulawayo and told that is was the last time they would be seen alive, before being questioned on the whereabouts of key WOZA members. They were released later on that afternoon and although unharmed were fairly traumatised.
“Zanu (PF) is about to unfold their election campaign and so they begin to open a bit more space to have an opposition but then they crack down on the people, like what we saw with the abduction of our members last week. We are just so grateful that they are alive,” she says.
Despite this WOZA members are more determined than ever to campaign for basic rights. “We know we are going to have more of this kind of thing,” says Williams. “We have to be so strong.”
The morale among the members is also incredibly high. “It is just amazing, people are really determined,” says Williams. “There are women who have been arrested again and again and they are still dedicated. We cannot cope with the demand for the advocacy work we are doing.”
Still, she feels that WOZA is having a very positive impact. “Robert Mugabe must be going onto the internet and googling WOZA,” she says, only half-joking. “He has been on the record as saying that school fees are too high. The other issue is price controls, we wanted basic food that was affordable and available, they obviously only saw one word: affordable.”