THE reaction of the state-owned media, especially the Herald, to Finance minister Tendai Biti’s midterm financial policy speech is hardly surprising. More so the reaction of the likes of former Information minister Jonathan Moyo. Moyo attacked Biti with all sorts of words, from accusations of the new policy as partisan to charges of abuse of the parliamentary floor and threatening national sovereignty and security by allowing the free movement and entry of foreign media content in Zimbabwe.
Despite its struggles to deal with so many problems, chief among which is that it is broke, the unity government through this policy has done something progressive where it matters most. And that is opening the avenues of access to information by as many of Zimbabwe’s citizens as possible and indeed the ability of the people to communicate without restrictions, be they of policy or poverty.
It is in the context of this that the attacks by Moyo have to be understood. It is not surprising that when it comes to the advancement of views that represent dissent, views other than their own, Moyo and the likes of former chairperson of the defunct Media and Information Commission Tafataona Mahoso become analysts of choice for the Herald.
It is also important to note that despite being an independent Member of Parliament, Moyo’s heart and spirit are still on board the Zanu PF gravy train. This is so because the ideological views of Zanu PF when it comes to media and the rights of citizens to access information, freely associate and speak their views, were shaped and are still influenced by the likes of Moyo and Mahoso.
Where Zanu PF would from time to time suppress dissent in the media in the 1980s, it had neither the confidence nor inclination to be so vicious until Moyo came onto the scene, presiding over the promulgation of laws that include Aippa and BSA.
It is the effect of these laws that Zimbabwe is struggling to reverse and the reason for Moyo’s anger.
In Moyo, Zanu PF found new energy and zeal that it never had to repress critical media voices.
So when he is quoted by the Herald attacking Biti for allowing duty–free entry of newspapers, computers and mobile phone handsets, his views have to be understood from a historical point of view of not only having nostalgia for his days in the former ruling party but also a warped ideological view based on the dominance of one view, his view, and the subjugation of the rest, to his narrow-minded thinking.
The attack on the free movement of media products as a threat to national sovereignty and security is a strange and unintelligent argument that should not be taken seriously nor have space in serious national discourse.
Of all things that have gone wrong in Zimbabwe, Moyo sees foreign newspapers and duty–free computers and mobile phones as a threat to national security and sovereignty. What of the fact that almost half of the population is being fed by foreigners because of the destructive policies of Zanu PF?
What of the fact that we are almost getting electricity which we are unable to pay for for free? What of the hordes of police and military service persons who have run away from duty because of paltry salaries? What of the abduction of innocent citizens, the torture and killing of civilians in Chiadzwa and other parts of the country?
For a very long time the likes of Moyo have abused terms such as national sovereignty and security to mean the protection of Zanu PF’s interest.
The citizens of Zimbabwe have enjoyed neither the benefits of sovereignty nor security as many have had to cross crocodile infested rivers to look for a better life in other peoples lands. Citizens have neither enjoyed security as they are daily harassed by security arms of the state.
The argument of sovereignty and national security has to be dismissed with contempt as an attempt to capture the national psyche in a historical trap. Sovereignty and security can only be guaranteed in a free society able to feed itself and sleep without fear of harassment by its own security arms and politicians.
Moyo and the Herald should take time to unpack the jargon they use, more so declare their own baggage and interests rather than pose as sober thinkers with the interest of the country at heart. It is not surprising that Moyo did not like what Biti said, more so because he is a lowly backbencher, whose voice is becoming fainter every time he opens his mouth.
This is indeed an unfamiliar position for Moyo who is used to strutting the national stage with gusto. The policy pronouncement by Biti might have its economic shortcomings but it is a major contribution to the freedoms that Zimbabweans are crying for.
It is also a major contribution to the development and usage of ICTs, be it in the mobile phone or computer sector. The more Zimbabweans can talk, access information, share ideas and concerns the more they can become liberated and play their rightful roles as citizens.
It is possible that an increase in mobile phone usage at reasonable charges can be a major contributor to state revenue as mobile phone companies increase their revenues, hence tax contributions. It is possible that the duty-free entry of computers is the panacea Zimbabwe needs to move into the ICT-driven knowledge age in all its sectors, and free us from the Stone Age that Moyo and others want to keep us in. All these aspects have a liberating feel and effect.
Zanu PF and the likes of Moyo would rather have people remain ignorant, submissive, read the Herald and listen and watch the ZBC, then go to sleep. We are not told how newspapers printed in London and distributed in Zimbabwe are a threat to national sovereignty. Why should Moyo or anyone else determine what people read. Why should the choice of what I read not be left to me if I can afford it?
This policy pronouncement is probably the most progressive and pro-poor as it enhances access to communication facilities. And with such facilities a communal farmer in Murehwa can easily communicate with his/her market at Mbare, negotiate prices, organise business and make a living. It is through communication and access to information that society can hope to move forward.
For those caught in the past, their attacks of this policy are not only shocking but another reminder of the threats of regression and myopia that lurks in the dark. Unfounded Zanu PF phobias fuelled by false prophecies of its oracles, in the form of Moyo and Mahoso, should not be allowed to stop Zimbabwe moving forward.
Friday 31 July 2009
Friday 10 July 2009
Gender as the lived experience: The controversy over the Zambian, ‘woman in birth’ Pictures- by Rashweat Mukundu
It is often too easy to say one understands gender equality issues, and I have said so, myself, many times. But a recent debate and discussion in the MISA office over the graphic pictures of a woman in birth, taken in Zambia a few weeks ago, apparently to demonstrate the collapse of the health delivery system as a result of a health workers strike, left me wondering whether there is more to the gender equality struggle and debate than what I know and would want to know. I am left wondering how deep does the gender debate arouse and prickle our cultural, religious and indeed manly sensitivities. I was shocked by what I saw in the pictures. This shock that I expressed in emails to colleagues, both mothers and seasoned activists in their own right, left me wondering whether when we talk about gender there are surface and deeper meanings that we all miss.
First, the two pictures taken in June in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, are indeed graphic and demonstrate the suffering the woman was going through and the fear on the faces friends and relatives who were trying to assist. The government in Zambia and the women’s movement are up in arms, accusing The Post newspaper of distributing pornography. On its part newspaper says it neither published nor took the pictures but simply forwarded them to select authorities with a note expressing concern on the state of health delivery in Zambia. The News editor was picked-up by the police and made to sign a warned and cautioned statement. She might still face trial.
My interaction with the images brought me to a world which I thought I knew, gender, women, equality. I talk and address these issues all the time. Our discussion on the pictures however brought a dimensions about the gender debate, that when we talk of gender and gender equality it is more than what one says and does but ‘THE LIVED’ experience and how as a man, despite all my good intentions, I can so easily miss the bigger picture.
I argued that maybe this woman was never consulted, did not consent to have the pictures taken and was to some extent used as a guinea pig and tool in a much bigger political game. The response from my two colleagues brought me to realise that maybe there is a cultural framing and societal structure and lenses that we men use to view women, and that there are many things about the women’s body, and role that we are not comfortable with. Women in birth, women in old age, women demonstrating masculinity and women in power are some of the things that came to mind. In the case of the Zambia pictures, President Rupiah Banda’s government leaped on this as an opportunity to reignite its fight with its nemesis The Post newspaper. The government leaped on this as an opportunity to divert attention from its failings on health delivery. The government lambasted the newspaper for distributing pornography. Cheering on the government corner, lo and behold, was the women’s movement in Zambia in all its shades and colours. The groups raised dust accusing the newspaper of disrespecting women’s bodies, dignity and all sorts. The political opportunism of the government is well understood, that is what politicians are like, quick at blaming and quick at diversion. What about the Zambia women’s movement?
We agreed in the short discussion that while we are all activist, still we are men and women, we belong to families, and we belong to a society. We belong to religious groups, we hold political views and opinions, and we carry our baggage wherever we go. This brings us back to the Zambia women’s movement. Which hat where they wearing when they attacked The Post newspaper and whose interests were they advancing between the suffering women and President Banda? Where they wearing their activism and gender equality hats or their cultural hat as submissive women who should be all fearing and in perpetual awe of the powerful men, or maybe they just decided to take a political stance against the newspaper?. It became clear in our discussion that the Women’s movement in Zambia and indeed a broad section of civic society did not take time to reflect and think deeper about these pictures. These pictures were not concocted, but ‘THE TRUTH’. The truth that women in Zambia, poor women who cannot afford private hospitals, doctors or even to be flown to Johannesburg are giving birth in the open, with no health care, traumatised and possibly dying. It was explained to me, that the baby that was being born as shown in the pictures, was in fact ‘breached’, that is coming out legs and body first, instead of head first. It was further explained to me by my colleagues that the baby would probably die and that should the mother have been receiving medical care, this situation would have been corrected. For me the birth was a messy affair that I could not comprehend. For our Zambian women movement it becomes clear that they missed the bigger picture that the Rupiah Banda government should be held accountable for putting the lives of women in serious danger. It is possible that the baby in those pictures died, it is possible also that the mother died or is seriously ill. Forget the privacy issues, lets us look at the bigger picture, the public good and interest issue, which is the lives and health of women. This is the message my colleagues emphasised on me. The concerned Minister of Health, in a democracy might have resigned and an official enquiry set up. In Africa life is cheap hence the Zambia government got away with a gross human rights violation. And those who are supposed to be the avant-garde fighting for women rights were sleeping. Again this raises another issues, how related are gender issues to politics and are women’s groups prepared to challenge politicians and get dirty in the process. I think not, women’s movements throughout Africa still have a long way to go. Gender equality is conducted as the neatest, most innocent, most unthreatening and apolitical process in the world. My experience with the Zambian pictures has taught me that gender equality is a messy business, highly political, about life and death. Women’s groups in Zambia and in Africa should be prepared to tackle these issues beyond rhetoric, hotel conferences, glossy newsletters and radio talk shows but tackle the root cause of the problem, which is political and cultural.
Key in this process are issues of access to information and how they are linked to the need for the public to know. If these picture had not been taken it is possible that the citizens of Zambia would imagine and indeed think that all is well, hence not challenge their government on its shortcomings. Access to information is therefore a critical element that either determined the life or death of the woman and the baby. It is access to information at various levels and in various stands that was shortcoming. Access to health information, i.e. did this woman have access to information on her condition, did she have access to information on alternatives, did she have acces to information on heath facilities and services available if any?. If not does the Zambia community have access to information on how much the government is spending on health, does society have access to information on the causes of the strike and government actions to resolve the crisis. These questions will never be answered, but are the cause why civic society should remain true to its calling, that is seek accountability, transparency and a better life for citizens. The woman and the baby in those pictures deserved better. The Zambia women’s movement needs to wake up, President Band and his government are politicians they can be voted out should Zambians decide so in 2011. // End//
First, the two pictures taken in June in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, are indeed graphic and demonstrate the suffering the woman was going through and the fear on the faces friends and relatives who were trying to assist. The government in Zambia and the women’s movement are up in arms, accusing The Post newspaper of distributing pornography. On its part newspaper says it neither published nor took the pictures but simply forwarded them to select authorities with a note expressing concern on the state of health delivery in Zambia. The News editor was picked-up by the police and made to sign a warned and cautioned statement. She might still face trial.
My interaction with the images brought me to a world which I thought I knew, gender, women, equality. I talk and address these issues all the time. Our discussion on the pictures however brought a dimensions about the gender debate, that when we talk of gender and gender equality it is more than what one says and does but ‘THE LIVED’ experience and how as a man, despite all my good intentions, I can so easily miss the bigger picture.
I argued that maybe this woman was never consulted, did not consent to have the pictures taken and was to some extent used as a guinea pig and tool in a much bigger political game. The response from my two colleagues brought me to realise that maybe there is a cultural framing and societal structure and lenses that we men use to view women, and that there are many things about the women’s body, and role that we are not comfortable with. Women in birth, women in old age, women demonstrating masculinity and women in power are some of the things that came to mind. In the case of the Zambia pictures, President Rupiah Banda’s government leaped on this as an opportunity to reignite its fight with its nemesis The Post newspaper. The government leaped on this as an opportunity to divert attention from its failings on health delivery. The government lambasted the newspaper for distributing pornography. Cheering on the government corner, lo and behold, was the women’s movement in Zambia in all its shades and colours. The groups raised dust accusing the newspaper of disrespecting women’s bodies, dignity and all sorts. The political opportunism of the government is well understood, that is what politicians are like, quick at blaming and quick at diversion. What about the Zambia women’s movement?
We agreed in the short discussion that while we are all activist, still we are men and women, we belong to families, and we belong to a society. We belong to religious groups, we hold political views and opinions, and we carry our baggage wherever we go. This brings us back to the Zambia women’s movement. Which hat where they wearing when they attacked The Post newspaper and whose interests were they advancing between the suffering women and President Banda? Where they wearing their activism and gender equality hats or their cultural hat as submissive women who should be all fearing and in perpetual awe of the powerful men, or maybe they just decided to take a political stance against the newspaper?. It became clear in our discussion that the Women’s movement in Zambia and indeed a broad section of civic society did not take time to reflect and think deeper about these pictures. These pictures were not concocted, but ‘THE TRUTH’. The truth that women in Zambia, poor women who cannot afford private hospitals, doctors or even to be flown to Johannesburg are giving birth in the open, with no health care, traumatised and possibly dying. It was explained to me, that the baby that was being born as shown in the pictures, was in fact ‘breached’, that is coming out legs and body first, instead of head first. It was further explained to me by my colleagues that the baby would probably die and that should the mother have been receiving medical care, this situation would have been corrected. For me the birth was a messy affair that I could not comprehend. For our Zambian women movement it becomes clear that they missed the bigger picture that the Rupiah Banda government should be held accountable for putting the lives of women in serious danger. It is possible that the baby in those pictures died, it is possible also that the mother died or is seriously ill. Forget the privacy issues, lets us look at the bigger picture, the public good and interest issue, which is the lives and health of women. This is the message my colleagues emphasised on me. The concerned Minister of Health, in a democracy might have resigned and an official enquiry set up. In Africa life is cheap hence the Zambia government got away with a gross human rights violation. And those who are supposed to be the avant-garde fighting for women rights were sleeping. Again this raises another issues, how related are gender issues to politics and are women’s groups prepared to challenge politicians and get dirty in the process. I think not, women’s movements throughout Africa still have a long way to go. Gender equality is conducted as the neatest, most innocent, most unthreatening and apolitical process in the world. My experience with the Zambian pictures has taught me that gender equality is a messy business, highly political, about life and death. Women’s groups in Zambia and in Africa should be prepared to tackle these issues beyond rhetoric, hotel conferences, glossy newsletters and radio talk shows but tackle the root cause of the problem, which is political and cultural.
Key in this process are issues of access to information and how they are linked to the need for the public to know. If these picture had not been taken it is possible that the citizens of Zambia would imagine and indeed think that all is well, hence not challenge their government on its shortcomings. Access to information is therefore a critical element that either determined the life or death of the woman and the baby. It is access to information at various levels and in various stands that was shortcoming. Access to health information, i.e. did this woman have access to information on her condition, did she have access to information on alternatives, did she have acces to information on heath facilities and services available if any?. If not does the Zambia community have access to information on how much the government is spending on health, does society have access to information on the causes of the strike and government actions to resolve the crisis. These questions will never be answered, but are the cause why civic society should remain true to its calling, that is seek accountability, transparency and a better life for citizens. The woman and the baby in those pictures deserved better. The Zambia women’s movement needs to wake up, President Band and his government are politicians they can be voted out should Zambians decide so in 2011. // End//
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