via Fearful Zimbos dare not delve into rights issues – NewsDay Zimbabwe May 23, 2015 by Veneranda Langa
A BASELINE survey on perception, attitudes and understanding on human rights in Zimbabwe which was released yesterday by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) revealed that Zimbabweans are scared to discuss human rights issues for fear of reprisals.
The study which was carried out by researchers Dorothy Mushayavanhu and Tarisai Mutangi on behalf of the ZHRC looked at human rights issues during the year 2013 in all the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.
“Most respondents associated human rights with politics and were not comfortable to discuss them for fear of reprisals and being labelled as belonging to the opposition political parties,” read the baseline survey report.
“Some of the respondents were happy that the discussion on human rights gave them a glimmer of hope in asserting their rights such as the right to freedom of expression as the restrictions on these rights also affected the right of workers to organise and strike.”
The rights violations that the report covered included gender-based violence, harassment by the police, marginalisation of some regions, children’s rights, right to education, health, water, disability rights, workers’ rights, environmental, social and political rights and even the rights of sex workers.
The researchers said most respondents in the Matabeleland and Midlands region were not happy with the fact that they were being marginalised as they viewed marginalisation in terms of non-enjoyment of the right to development, massive factory closures in Bulawayo and subsequent relocation of others to Harare.
They also came up with findings that child abuse and child marriages were common in all the provinces.
“The right to health is not being fully realised. This is due to shortage of medicines for chronic illnesses in all provinces such as the ARV paediatric formula. In Mashonaland provinces, especially in Kazangarare in Hurungwe district there are no Anti-Retroviral Treatment centres,” the research revealed.
“The non-enjoyment of the right to clean and safe potable water resonated in all provinces and in both urban and rural settings.”
COMMENTS
President Mugabe’s record of governance and public management has been atrocious.To inherit such a promising country with so much potential and destroy it within three decades is record breaking.
“If you look at Africa in general, he is the oldest President that we have and Zimbabwe is doing badly in many aspects particularly on the economic front.According to drunken youths of Zimbabwe, Mugabe is a visionary and the best leader who allows them to sell and drink crango, bronco, smoke weed at any place they want, and allow them to beat up opposition supporters at will, that is their best leader.“I think this is a serious record. A disgrace nation of slaves and illegal crooks.