Support the women of Zimbabwe!

Hello Athenites!

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), a group of over 75, 000 human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, frequently suffers from political persecution from the government. Although the formation of a unity government in Zimbabwe has meant that day-to-day conditions have marginally improved, there is still a lot of work to do before good governance is a reality.

On February 2nd, 2010, 22 WOZA members were arrested in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, because they were discussing the constitutional reform process. It is clear that WOZA needs the help and moral support of fellow activists all over the world.

Please use Amnesty Canada's campaign in order to send a message of solidarity to WOZA members or make a donation that will go to public awareness and directly to WOZA. Click here to get involved.

If you live in the United States, you may prefer to make donations or participate through their branch. you can find some information about their Valentine's Day campaign for WOZA here.

Your help, whether it is a simple message of hope or a financial donation, is appreciated.

Peace,
Steph

(WOZA Coordinator
Amnesty International Canada
wozacoordinator@amnesty.ca)

Zimbabwean Women Activists Honoured: Feel Good Fridays

So, I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of a personal stake in today's topic. I have volunteered for about 5 years with Amnesty International (Canadian Branch) and about a year ago, I also became an Amnesty Coordinator, meaning that I have the great honour of communicating with Amnesty activists all across Canada, letting them know about new actions, helping organize events, etc., etc. My area of focus as a Coordinator is with a group called WOZA, which stands for Women of Zimbbawe Arise. WOZA is a Ndebele word meaning "come forward," and that is exactly what the 75,000 members of WOZA do--since 2003, they have held over 500 peaceful protests demanding better from the Zimbabwean government.

These women (and men) have faced countless hardships. Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams are two of the leaders of the movement, and they have been jailed over 30 times. They are currently facing charges of "disturbing the peace" and are set to go to trial on December 7th. If convicted, they will face up to 5 years in prison.

On Monday, Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams were honoured by U.S. President Barack Obama with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, a very prestigious honour. The women of Zimbabwe, for all their courage and hard work, certainly deserve this award! (Now I only hope that it is backed up with some more tangible support of Zimbabwean civil society!) Check out the presentation of the award and the awesome speech by President Obama.



If you are interested in getting more involved with Amnesty International, check out this website and go to the top right hand corner to find if you have an office in your country.

If you want to know more about the current political situation in Zimbabwe, check out this great site.

If you want to get involved with supporting the activism of WOZA, email me at wozacoordinator@amnesty.ca

WOZA MOYA!
(Come forward, healing spirit)
:) Stephanie