Women protesters demand free education for children in Zimbabwe
Women march in Bulawayo ahead of the new school term
Thousands of women took to the streets of Bulawayo in Zimbabweyesterday to demand free education for their children asprotests against the government mount across the country.
The protest dubbed #BoycottSchoolFees was organised by Womenof Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), who presented a petition to theresident minister ahead of the new school term early next month.
The protest, involving about 2000 women, follows about adozen protests in the past two months over a series of issues,including the planned introduction of controversial bond notesto curb a long-running cash shortage crisis.
“We want government to honour its constitutional obligationto provide education for all,” Jennie Williams, WOZAco-ordinator, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
According to parent associations, thousands of children havebeen thrown out of classes around the country for failing to paytuition at a time when millions are without jobs in the country.
Labour unions estimate that up to 90% of Zimbabwe’s14 million people do not have jobs but there is no clear data onthe jobless rate with so many Zimbabweans working in theinformal sector.
UNICEF said in a recent report that regular monitoringcontinued to show a downward trend in terms of school attendancebut it did not have exact figures on numbers in classrooms.
However the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Committee reported lastmonth that up to 15% of rural school children were out ofschool because they cannot afford tuition fees.
The march came as pressure mounts against 92-year-oldPresident Robert Mugabe amid the continuing economic crisis. Police have arrested more than 100 protesters across the country over the past two months during which Zimbabwe has witnessed almost weekly protests, some which have ended in clashes with police, against economic hardship.
According to Williams, none of the women protesters werearrested in Thursday’s march which lasted more than an hour withwomen carrying petitions and flyers to hand out to onlookers.
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