Zimbabwe: WOZA women march to demand their children’s right to education

Hundreds of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members will be marching in Bulawayo tomorrow (4 May) to demand that their children be allowed to go to school. They will insist on seeing the Provincial Governor and will deliver a set of demands. Recent fee increases of up to 1000% have meant that many families across the country can no longer afford the exorbitant rates now imposed. As a result, many children will not be returning to school next week.

“Every child in Zimbabwe shall have the right to school education”*

The right to education is a fundamental human right, both under international norms and Zimbabwean law. The Education Act clearly states that children have a right to schooling and that primary education is compulsory and that parents have a duty to send their children to school. And yet these fee increases are effectively denying children that basic right. Their long suffering parents, many affected by Operation ‘Restore Order’, are unable to cope with daily survival, never mind skyrocketing school fees. Parents deprived of the opportunity to earn an honest day’s wages will now be unable to secure a future for their children. Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty but Government has thrown away the keys. This is the same Government whose arsenal to suppress the nation has been prioritised in the budget over the needs of educating the nation.

As Mother’s Day approaches, mothers across Zimbabwe are faced with the stark choice of either feeding their children or educating them. Most cannot afford to do both. With the poverty datum line for a family of five at $35 million Zimbabwe dollars, and the minimum wage just set at $7 million, parents earning this wage would have to spend their entire salary sending one child to school with nothing left over for any other basic needs. However, with unemployment currently at 80 per cent, those earning a minimum wage are amongst the lucky few.

As a result, the women of WOZA are saying to the government:
NO more buying weapons to oppress us - YES to educating our children
NO more poor and starving children - YES to educated and healthy children
NO more lies and empty promises - YES to leaders who care and tell us the truth
NO more massive school fee increases - YES to affordable education for all

As many schools have also threatened to exclude children who cannot produce receipts, WOZA is also calling on all teaching staff and school administrations not to turn away children because their parents are unable to pay these high fees.

The movement to reverse the fee increases is part of WOZA’s continuing social justice campaign. Initial consultations across the country have made it clear that Zimbabweans consider education to be a vital component of a socially just Zimbabwe.

This Mothers’ Day, therefore WOZA is asking Zimbabweans to choose. To either remain silent and passively allow their children to be denied their fundamental right to an education or to join WOZA in demanding an end to these increases.