Fungai Lupande
Mashonaland Central Bureau
WOMEN and girls returning to Zimbabwe from South Africa often face stigma, discrimination and social exclusion as they seek to rebuild their lives, prompting a new campaign by UN Women to promote their safe reintegration into communities.
The Stronger Together campaign, running from October 20 to December 10, 2026, seeks to prevent gender-based violence (GBV), protect returnees and promote peaceful co-existence by placing communities at the centre of efforts to challenge harmful attitudes.
Running under the theme, “Communities United Against GBV, Stigma and Discrimination”, the initiative will use community radio, roadshows, digital storytelling and public dialogues to encourage communities to welcome women and girls returning home.
The campaign highlights that successful reintegration involves more than returning home, requiring safe communities, social acceptance and opportunities for women and girls to rebuild their lives with dignity.
Through its #StrongerTogetherZW campaign, UN Women will also raise awareness of GBV prevention and response services while promoting women’s leadership in community resilience and peacebuilding.
The campaign will be officially launched in Epworth, bringing together Government representatives, United Nations agencies, community leaders, women’s rights organisations, young people, media practitioners and women returnees.
The launch will feature testimonies from returnees, community dialogues, live radio broadcasts, theatre performances and information booths providing referrals to GBV support services.
Community engagement will extend to Chipinge and Masvingo, where radio programmes, market activations, youth platforms and listener call-in shows will provide opportunities to confront discrimination and discuss ways of preventing violence.
UN Women will also use Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp to amplify messages through community-led content, influencers and survivor-centred storytelling.
A dedicated initiative, Voices of Resilience, will document the experiences of women returnees rebuilding their lives while highlighting community members working to promote inclusion, peace and solidarity.
The initiative will produce a documentary, short videos and radio stories to challenge negative perceptions of returnees and showcase women’s contributions to their communities.
The campaign comes as UN Women aligns its efforts with the 2026 global UNiTE campaign to End Violence Against Women and Girls, themed “Ensure Justice. Protect Survivors. End Impunity.”
Beyond raising awareness, the initiative seeks to encourage collective responsibility in preventing GBV and ensuring that women and girls can access support without facing further discrimination.
UN Women is working with Government ministries, faith-based organisations, community leaders, women’s rights groups and media houses to promote respect, inclusion and equality.
The central message is that reintegration cannot succeed where stigma persists, and preventing gender-based violence requires communities to become part of the solution.
