adminrights, then a different Netsai will emerge.
Still soft-spoken, but with a lot more passion in her voice and eyes and a greater emphasis on what it means for a woman to be violated and what the nation should and can do to put an end to it.
From primary school, Netsai has always looked out for her sisters, even at an age when she could only feel the injustice in her heart but powerless to do anything about it.
As the national co-ordinator of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, an organisation bringing together 63 women’s rights organisations, Netsai has a lot of looking out to do.
And by all accounts, she has acquitted herself admirably in the time she has been in the job.
Her peers speak of a determined woman, who will not rest until she gets what she wants, yet one who is dedicated to her family life and will go out of her way to ensure women’s rights are respected.
“I distinctly remember my Grade 7 year very clearly like it was yesterday. Our teacher was married with two children and he started going out with a girl in my class who was related to me.
“We (pupils) became very worried since the teacher had a wife at the same school. When we talked about the issue, the teacher beat the four of us thoroughly for gossiping.
“The girl who the teacher was abusing was so proud that the teacher was in love with her and she was always smiling in class, I remember the radiance of her face. She did not do her homework though, I knew because I was responsible for marking Maths and English books for all students.
“I would agree on a marking scheme with the teacher. At the end of the year the teacher married this young girl amid pomp and ceremony and I will always remember how sad I felt. This is the child abuse that has continued to happen in schools with the full blessing of parents and other teachers,” said Netsai demonstrating both her early leadership and activism.
And, contrary to the belief that only children in well-to do schools speak out on issues, this was happening far from any urban centre.
“I am a rural child, born in Bindura and attended Masembura Primary School where I walked 7km to school and another 7km back.
“My early childhood memories are of working, working and working, morning till sunset. I would wake up, fetch water from a well 2km away, mostly three buckets, clean the yard, make the fire, clean the kitchen and bedrooms, go to the fields, come back to cook, fetch more water.
“I remember wondering why women had to work so much. I also remember the deliberate efforts of the society to put women down. The adult men spoke of the stupidity of women, how women had few brains, how they could not make good decisions.
“However, when I looked around it was the women who worked hard to feed their families and pay fees for their schoolchildren. Where I came from women work in the fields during the rainy season and engage in serious horticulture in the wetlands during the dry season and made substantial amounts of money.
“Most of the women were always pregnant and early on I wondered why this was so. When I was in Grade Three I came first in my class and the teacher scolded the boys in the class that they should not be outshone by a girl. I was furious,” she said.
Netsai’s mother had dropped out of school and her driving ambition was to see her six daughters and two sons doing well in school.
She did everything in her power to send Netsai to school.
“Two of my childhood friends were married off when we were in Form 2 and I kept going because my mother said I should finish Form 4 and become a nurse.
“However, one of my teachers in Form 3 spoke of the need to continue with education until university so I became hooked on that. My father tried to get me into a nursing school after Form 4 and I refused, he did not understand why I did not want to be a nurse,” she said.
Many women nationwide are now glad she did not make that decision, to be
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Mushonga dreams of
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a nurse.
As the focal person at WCoZ, Netsai oversees vital programmes that have a lasting impact on lives of women and men on a daily basis.
“I am the national co-ordinator of WCoZ. My role is to drive WCoZ processes and this include supervising staff, conception of programmes, overseeing programmes implementation, being the face of WCoZ, interacting with membership and stakeholders. Our main goal is to collectively lobby and advocate for women’s rights in Zimbabwe. It’s an exciting role and I would not exchange my work with anything else,” she explained her role.
“What keeps me going is the belief and the conviction that women and girls will overcome the inequality, poverty and violence that they have lived with. Already I have seen huge and unimaginable changes in women’s lives since I was young so this is good.
“What keeps me going is the conviction that Zimbabweans will remain a proud nation that works to continually improve itself as a country, produce its own food and other products. I continue to urge everyone I meet to utilise our local products, as this supports our local economy to grow.
“Working for NGOs is back-breaking work since we are almost always understaffed and staff have to take on more work. What motivates staff is freedom to schedule their work and be in charge of their budgets and activities. Most of the staff are women rights activists and are motivated by the changes we see in society everyday, and you have to be a serious women rights activist to work for WCoZ.”
She has hopes and dream for the organisation and for women.
“My dream for WCoZ is for us to strengthen and broaden our membership and network to include organisations in the civic society, business, churches and women from political parties. This can allow women to strategise on issues affecting them and the more we are, the more powerful we become.
“Imagine women and girls across Zimbabwe marching during International Women’s Day to say no to rape, no to violence, society will stand up and listen and our allies will increase.
“I remember when women were lobbying for a Domestic Violence Act, we were united as women in civic society and women in parliament and senate, all of us and the act was passed smoothly. My dream is to unite women of Zimbabwe across society, economic, political and geographical divides. My dream is for women to lead Zimbabwe to unity, peace and prosperity.,” she says with the conviction of one who sees her dream becoming reality.
“One step at a time. So far women from civic society and Women’s Parliamentary caucus are united. We continue to broaden our membership everyday and we raise awareness among women of the importance to unite around a women’s agenda.
“We mobilise and win women over to our side gradually and every success we score more women join us. In 2005 we had a membership of 27 organisations, now its 63, it will continue to grow and increase in outreach,” she said, still as elegant as ever.
Netsai always finds time to spend with her family.
“I am a mother of two very smart girls. My first daughter is studying Chemical Engineering and the second sits for her ‘O’ Levels this year. I have been married for the past 21 years to Albert Mazvidza, and we have grown up together.
“I enjoy worshipping at the Celebration Church in Ruwa. I had failed to thrive in many congregations but Celebration Church has broken some barriers by placing women in leadership positions and getting them to minister meaningfully,” she says.
Online Reporter