Valentine's Day march stopped

Police in Zimbabwe on Saturday dispersed more than 100 women who were planning a Valentine's Day march to urge national reconciliation in the capital, Harare. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, the high court refused to hear an urgent application sought by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) to compel the police to allow them to march. Jenni Williams, spokesperson for WOZA, a pressure group protesting Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, said although the police had initially given them permission to march at various centres around the country, there was a last-minute verbal withdrawal of the permission. "Nobody has been arrested or beaten up, but what has happened is that our right to stage a peaceful demonstration has been denied," said Williams. The women, who were dressed in red and white, managed to regroup in other parts of the capital and distributed roses and valentine cards saying they were defending their "right to be loved and the rights of our children". "Defend your right to love and let love overcome hate. Defend all your rights and stand up for the truth," read part of a flyer that was being distributed by the women. In Chitungwiza town, about 35 km outside Harare, the women handed out roses and cards to bemused policemen and suspects at the police station without incident. On St Valentine's day last year, protests against the rising cost of living resulted in 70 WOZA members - and some journalists covering the march - being arrested for breaching the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). An anti-POSA demonstration in July 2003 led to the arrest of 48 WOZA supporters. Williams said WOZA's weekend action was taking place against the backdrop of a deteriorating economy, political violence, corruption, hunger, and a rise in rape cases - a recent survey suggested that 18 percent of Zimbabwean women had been raped at some point in their lives. According to Janah Ncube, head of the Women's Coalition, a grouping of women's organisations and activists, 137 girls were raped in Harare in January alone. "What is really scary about the rape figures is that they were reported at one clinic in one month. The real picture of rape crimes could be horrendous if figures of other clinics and those of unreported crimes were taken into consideration," Ncube was quoted as saying. More details