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VIENNA — The region and international human rights advocates have come under fire for ignoring the sexual rights abuses that occurred in Zimbabwe during the 2008 orgy of rape, violence and intimidation of opposition supporters.
On the sidelines of the 18th International Aids conference, human rights watchdog, Aids-Free World and activists from South Africa, Botswana and other countries vowed to continue to apply pressure on regional and international bodies such as Sadc, the African Union and the UN Security Council to take action against the perpetrators of political violence carried out against opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters.
“There is not the slightest question that Mugabe has his youth corps and his war veterans and they are ready to do it again, said Stephen Lewis,” co-director of Aids-Free World.
Lewis, who is also the former UNAids special envoy to Africa, added that the reluctance to intervene in Zimbabwe by the African Union and Sadc in Zimbabwe was a “terribly disturbing commentary on the moral standing of the leadership in Africa”.
He dished out similar criticism against the international human rights community.
“The use of rape as a political tactic is the lowest, brutal, disgusting thing that any politician or political organisation can use,” said Vuyiseka Dubula, the general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign (Tac) of South Africa.
She also rebuked the South African government for its “cowardice” in responding to the Zimbabwean crisis and stated that Sadc leaders were refusing to take responsibility for the situation in Zimbabwe.
As many as four million out of a total of 13 million Zimbabweans, are believed to be living outside the country because of the severe economic and political violence in the last decade.
Aids-Free Worlds’ report, entitled ‘Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe’ presents alleged evidence of the rape campaign waged by the ruling Zanu PF party during the 2008 election period.
Over the course of six field visits, the group's lawyers interviewed rape survivors and witnesses, resulting in 70 sworn affidavits from victims describing brutal beatings, abduction, gang rape and torture.
According to the report, every one of those 70 women was either a member of MDC, or closely related to a member of the then opposition party.
But amid these statistics it was a tearful Tabitha Khumalo, MP for Bulawayo East, who provided a human face to the session.
“Rape is a silent driver of HIV and Aids and is now being used as a political weapon so that as women we are denied the right to stand up and demand what is rightfully ours,” she said.
Khumalo said the act of rape leads to stigmatisation of the victims by the police, health institutions (who refuse to treat the survivors) as well as the victims’ children and partners.
Current statistics show that HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe stands at 13,7% with unprotected heterosexual sex being one of the drivers of the pandemic.
But the MP said she was proud to know that the international community gathered in Vienna was taking the issue of Zimbabwe women seriously.
“Please help the Zimbabwean women,” she pleaded before breaking down into tears.
“We have done everything in our power and we have failed.”
The Conference, which opened on Sunday last week , is taking place under the theme, ‘Rights Here. Right Now’ and is calling for a human rights-based approach to responding to HIV and Aids.
BY FUNGAI MACHIRORI
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