"Bread and Roses" protestors held

More than 400 women have been arrested for protesting against high prices and unemployment over the past two days in Zimbabwe, after inflation shot past 600 percent. Over 240 were arrested in the capital, Harare, on Tuesday for participating in a march led by the activist organisation, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), held annually on St Valentine's Day. The organisation's lawyer was also arrested when he intervened, according to WOZA. Another 181 participants of a WOZA-led march in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, were arrested on Monday and remained in detention overnight. "This year's theme is bread and roses [inspired by the 'Bread and Roses' strike by American women textile workers in 1912]," said Jenni Williams, national coordinator of WOZA, who was among those arrested on Monday. "The bread stands for the need for affordable food, and the roses represent the need to be dignified and the call for social justice." Police have largely treated WOZA protests as illegal 'political' gatherings. In two years of demonstrations, about 900 WOZA activists have now been arrested for breaching the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which prohibits public gatherings without police clearance. According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), a watchdog body, the Central Statistical Office's latest consumer survey indicated that the monthly cost of living, including non-food items, for a family of five rocketed to more than Zim $21 million (about US $211) in January, up from Zim $17.5 million (US $176) in December 2005. The average monthly salary of a public servant is US $121, despite a 231 percent increase in government salaries announced last month. "The cost of accommodation, fuel and the hike in government salaries announced last month have all impacted on the cost of living," said CCZ's Henry Musongwe. The annual rate of inflation is now 613.2 percent, close to the all-time high of 622 percent reached in January 2004. Basics like the cost of accommodation, commuting and school fees can now set a family back by Zim $12 million (US $121) a month, while food can drain almost Zim $8 million (US $81) from a family's monthly expenditure. "The average salary of the lowest-paid government employee - a cleaner - has been hiked up from Zim $5 million to Zim $7 million (US $50 to $70), which has prompted shops to hike prices, making them [food items] even more unaffordable," added Musongwe. Zimbabwe is in the throes of a severe economic crisis and facing serious food shortages as a result of recurring poor harvests and the government's fast-track land redistribution programme, which began in 2000 and has disrupted agricultural production and slashed export earnings. The government blames unofficial sanctions by western governments for the economic crisis.