Development work is not about getting up everyday and going to work to meet targets and deadlines but, it is about getting up every day to contribute towards the lives of those with a greater need than I do. In my case, these are women and girls in Bulawayo and boy! Am I excited that the movement is slowly spreading its wings to incorporate women and girls in peri-urban Bulawayo and surrounding rural areas of Ntabazinduna, Maphisa, Tsholotsho and Eshlengeni. This way, it is undeniable that the movement will indeed incorporate more women and girls into the Constitutional sensitization agenda.
“How many of you have seen this book,” I usually ask holding my very treasured copy of the Constitution. 140 women from across 6 villages of Ntabazinduna and zero responses, these are young women between ages 18 to 35 that are part of the 2023 electorate who by no chance at all have set their eyes on the ‘founding document of the Republic,’ the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20) Act 2013.
There never has been a more pressing need than there is today to ensure that the Constitution is availed to all women across the country and is translated into indigenous languages for ease of understanding by all women. This way, women and girls stand to benefit without the barrier of language.
“It is your bread and butter” I always preach. “Read it just as you would your bible. A verse per day equals to a subsection a day. What matters is motion, the fact that you are reading the “holy book” means you are able to make decisions from an informed perspective as a woman living in Zimbabwe” I always emphasize. Sections 17, 56 and 80 the roots of women empowerment, a solid understanding of these sections is the beginning of wisdom for all women and girls sprout across the beautiful plains of my homeland.
I have experienced the power of the knowledge of the Constitution at play and as such I cannot and will not be derailed, discouraged or disheartened in my quest to teach women about the scared “holy book.’ So much good, success, progress and life changing opportunities have been born and awarded to women and girls simply from the power of reading to understand the Constitution.
Young women have risen up and used the Constitution to start hashtags, to participate in multiple women’s rights organizations across the province and beyond boarders, small scale business owners and academicians to mention just but a few have also been born. Older women have won divorce cases, gender-based-violence battles and child support settlements just from a mere understanding of how to apply the constitution in seeking justice for themselves. In all these great achievements my contribution remains the same, “the art of delivering Constitution literacy, sensitization and application among women and girls.”
How then can I not be filled with joy and excitement at an opportunity to introduce this magic book to women across all divides knowing full well how their lives will be impacted positively. My determination is fueled by the lack of information and understanding some women possess to an extent that women believe that, ‘our rights as women belong to our husbands and they are the ones who should give them to us.’ To many it may come across as a joke to laugh off but to me it is a loud cry for help and a gap to be utilized in equipping women with the priceless knowledge of the Constitution. One woman at a time is all I ever ask to capacitate and inform about the ‘holy book’ that has been working miracles in the lives of those who have come before us and the ones that stand today proclaiming the power of the Constitution of the Republic.
PersistentPurpose 
Really eye-opening. Ignorance isn’t bliss and I have been on the side of ignorance. Would you happen to know where one can find the Constitution? Asking for a friend, friend is me
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Hye Zothile, l am your plug. I work on 27 Hebert Chitepo and Cnr 1st Avenue at DP Foundation. Let ne know when you would like to come so l can give you a copy. My pleasure…
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again, unpacking facts!
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