MUTARE– State security agents are preying on vulnerable women demanding sex for favors as the vicious cycle of abuse and violence continue unabated in Marange diamonds fields, a new research has shown.
Speaking at the launch of a Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG) report on women and mining, some victims of violence at the hands of the state security agents, said violence against women only scaled down but has never stopped.
CNRG’s report, Guns, Power and Politics, Extractives and violence against women in Zimbabwe explores women’s experiences of violence in Zimbabwe’s mining sector- a highly unequal, patriarchal and violent economic system of development based on exploitation of people and natural resources.
A young female villager from Chiadzwa who spoke on condition of anonymity, at the launch of the report, said the state security agents often armed with guns, force themselves on local women under the pretext of protecting them.
“As a young woman I constantly live in fear, because when the soldiers find you and request for National ID card they can tell you clearly that only sleeping with them can save you from being taken to the base.
“The soldiers are taking advantage if you are a woman, for them to release you they will ask for sexual favors, we can say it is rape because women will be trying to escape.
“As a victim of torture at the hands of the soldiers, every time I see soldiers I relieve the trauma and horror of being mercilessly beaten,” said the female villager.
Another female villager also narrated how she was beaten by the state security and could not walk for two weeks, says the arbitrary punishment meted out by the state security against villagers is inscribed in their minds.
“For women who were beaten before the trauma is always with them and every time they see the soldiers they relive those painful experiences,” she said.
Farai Maguwu, CNRG director said the State is failing to protect communities, exposing vulnerable villagers to negative impacts of extractivism, politicization and militarization of mining activities, especially the diamond sector.
Maguwu said state security instead of protecting local communities, is providing a conduit for illegal mining by protecting narrow political elites, foreign investors and corporates.
He said even when private security is responsible, it is connected to ruling elites and they pervade their political orientation methods of providing security in an aggressive and violent manner, which often victimizes women.
“Mining in its current form is warfare against communities and women are the biggest losers as they are sexually exploited by coercion or other means.
“They don’t find space in the mining value chain hence their mineral wealth is through their bodies which have become a huge crime scene that requires thorough investigation by the Zimbabwe Human Rights and Gender Commissions,” said Maguwu.
“Soldiers must not live with civilians but this is what we are seeing in Marange. Communities are caught up in areas where they are said to have trespassed and they end up being abused, and women are disproportionately affected.
“We have situations of indecent searches where women are forced to undress and at times searched in private parts of their bodies looking for diamonds. Violence across women cuts across the mining sector,” said Maguwu.
Henry Nyapokoto, coordinator for CNRG, said silence around these forms of violence need to be broken, so that women can define for themselves the forms of support and redress they need to counter such challenges.
CNRG in the report says that this, “…economic system ensures that a small elite, usually corporate interests connected to powerful ruling party and state officials, benefit from mining while the majority of people experience growing rates of poverty, landlessness and unemployment.”
Nyapokoto said there was need to challenge human rights violations in the sector, by empowering local women, to speak out against narrow profit oriented elites and corporate interests that violate fundamental human rights.
He said the report raises awareness of the violence against women in the mining sector and gives an opportunity for women to speak out against the cycle of violence.
“Generally mining not only in Zimbabwe is based on capitalist system, an extension of colonialism because colonialisms was based on a patriarchal ideology separated men and women and marginalized women.
“We did this research to raise awareness of the violence which takes place in diamond areas. Even as we were interacting with women it gave them an opportunity to speak out. Some of them are still traumatized.
“This form of mining where we have a militarized community is based on the system of marginalizing women, they live in fear, and they have become vulnerable to a lot forms of violence.
“We have observed that women are disproportionately affected when men that have guns are found in communities, women face greater challenges they experienced sexualized violence and rape. As we record and publish their stories it will help to look at ways of dealing with this kind of violence,” said Nyapokoto.
Key findings of the research show that violence against women is multifaceted and is exacerbated by patriarchy, militarisation and mining. This cycle of violence include physical violence, stigmatisation, sexual violence, increased burden of care work, deprivation of livelihoods, forced labour and exclusion (social economic).
