THE Women's Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE) has hosted a crucial training session aimed at empowering local female leaders to protect themselves as well as advance their rights.
The training, conducted in partnership with UN Women, the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) and the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), focused on enhancing skills and knowledge of women leaders working in community-based women's rights organizations and broader civil society.
Speaking at the event hosted recently, WALPE deputy director Jessie Chihota emphasized the prevalence of violence against women, particularly those involved in politics.
“What we have observed from our researches and trainings is that violence against women, especially women in politics, is a detrimental factor to their participation in politics,” said Chihota.
“Violence comes in different forms; there's physical, there's psychological, there is cyber violence, and cyber bullying. So, with this training, we have targeted women leaders, human rights activists who are women, and women-led community-based organizations to come for this training so that the women can be equipped with knowledge and skills to protect themselves against violence and human rights violations.”
The training also provided guidance on recognizing and responding to threats, seeking support from relevant organizations, and raising awareness about the impact of political violence on women's rights.
While sharing personal experiences as a women's rights activist, Zimbabwe National Students' Union (Zinasu) general secretary Lillian Muhwandavaka stressed the importance of mental fitness in navigating the challenges of activism and human rights defense.
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“I feel like this workshop was very necessary, especially coming from a point where we were arrested and brutally assaulted in July while we were holding our general council meeting,” she said.
“Women usually back out after facing such violence and after the scenario where we were arrested and assaulted. I lost a number of women within the student activism space because they were now afraid and scared to pursue activism and human rights defending,” Muhwandavaka said.
Another Zinasu member Natasha Chipudya, expressed newfound confidence and empowerment after attending the training.
“I think mental fitness is one of the most important things for us to be able to function correctly in this activism space,” she said.
“We face serious cyberbullying, we face serious sexual harassment, which affects our mental health at a very great extent.
“So this workshop, this mental health workshop, actually helped me understand how I could combat such scenarios, how I could combat such cases.”
By empowering women leaders with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and advocate for their rights, WALPE and its partners are working towards creating a more equitable and just society for all women in Zimbabwe.
