Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti "Women, unlike men, have to worry about their virginity. They are taught that their virginity is valuable, even a commodity. Remember the issue of mombe yechimanda; virginity is commercialised, commodified."A Harare man, Shepherd Musekiwa, whipped his wife as punishment for falsely claiming that she was a virgin before he married her. He discovered that she was not a virgin during their honeymoon. The matter was heard in the Civil Court recently after Shepherd Musekiwa's wife, Patricia, approached the court for a protection order against her husband. "The main problem is that she lied to me that she was a virgin before I married her, only to find out that she was not after the wedding," Shepherd told magistrate Barbra Maketo. He added, "She used to deny me sex before I married her saying she was saving herself for marriage, but she was lying." Patricia said she is suffering because her husband had also resorted to &qu

Lazarus Sauti Mutasa rural dwellers in Manicaland Province are set to benefit from fish farming projects spearheaded by Maoresa Fish Production group and supported by Practical Action that aims at improving food and nutrition security. The project, with 18 members – 10 men and eight women, started in October 2015 and is set to benefit Nyabadza, Mutsamba and other surrounding villages. Charles Kamutsamba, Maoresa Fish Production group chairperson said the fish farming project is not only going to help members, but other villagers who will need fish for consumption. “Our members dug a pond that can hold up to 2 000 fish at Jombe Primary School, and we are in the process of acquiring Nile Tilapia fish as part of the project’s expansion. We want to breed fish for consumption and commercial purposes,” he said. Lucy Manyawu, 54, and a member of the Maoresa Fish Production group endorsed the project and applauded Practical Action for engaging villagers in fish farming.

Lazarus Sauti FARMERS at Nyakomba in Nyanga North and Nyarumvurwe in Nyanga South believe embracing the voluntary savings and lendings (VSLs) scheme and venturing into canal irrigation is an effective way to alleviate hunger. They say canal irrigation is the only avenue of mitigating drought brought about by climate changes. Villagers, particularly in Nyanga North where Nyakomba Irrigation Scheme is situated, draw their water from the mighty Gairezi River, and as such the Nyakomba Irrigation Scheme is set to become the country’s biggest functional irrigation scheme. In 2015, the Japanese government extended a $15 million grant aid for the development of the scheme. The developmental project significantly triggered Practical Action, Zambuko Trust and Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe to further provide farmers with financial as well as technical support to ensure they improve their production levels and generate income for basic household needs. Matthew Nyagwaya (60), fa

Lazarus Sauti ROUGHLY half of the world’s vanadium, platinum, and diamonds originate from southern Africa along with 36 percent of gold and 20 percent of cobalt. Despite positive effects of mining activities in the country, the sector has and continues to give rise to diverse social, local governance, agricultural, environmental and economic human rights violations, particularly for villagers that live in the vicinity of mining operations. Like most Sadc countries, Zimbabwe is richly endowed with mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, platinum, chromite, iron, nickel and coal among others. The country, for instance, has the second largest platinum reserves after South Africa as well as 15 percent of the global chromite reserves, making it a significant player in the global mining industry. In his 2016 national budget, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said: “So critical is mining that it, together with agriculture, is expected to drive a 2.7 percent annual GDP

Lazarus Sauti Maxwell Svedhani (34), a father of two girls from Bhora Juru Growthpoint, Mashonaland East Province, is living a hell of a life as he is mentally, physically and also sexually abused by Runako, her violent wife of nine years. “My wife hits me with her fists, kicks, burns, slams, punches, pushes and bites me in front of our children. On top of that, she oftenly threatens and intimidates me, denies me sex and food as well as locks me out of the house,” he said. Svedhani added that his wife belittles his abilities and competencies, initiates name-calling insults, and silently treats him in addition to subverting his relationship with the children. The battered man, who attempted homicide for four times, is suffering in silence and mostly fears for his children who are witnessing the violence as it is perpetrated by his wife on a daily basis. “My major trepidation is that my two precious girls who are witnessing this violence in our home might develop sig

Lazarus Sauti At least 20 percent of children under the age of 15 years in Zimbabwe are at a risk of developing cancers and other illnesses such as heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, tuberculosis and pneumonia as they are already smoking. The Global Youth Tobacco revealed recently that no less than 20 percent of children under the age of 15 years in the country are already smoking tobacco. “12.4 percent of the children started smoking at the age of 7 years or younger whilst at least 31.8 percent of the students were exposed to tobacco at home and 48.7 percent were exposed to tobacco smoke inside enclosed public spaces,” read the report. Zimbabwe is not only the country battling the problem as a study released early last year revealed an increase in teenage smoking in Botswana. The Botswana study indicated that 10.8 percent of teenagers are current smokers and the majority of adolescents (61 percent) believe that most people their age smoke. Zimbabweans should be w

Lazarus Sauti Disrespect and abuse in maternity care is an institutionalised form of gender violence, and this a busive care during delivery is directed at women’s sexuality, their reproductive role, as well as their capacity to make decisions regarding their own bodies. It targets women when they are least powerful and most vulnerable, and negates their autonomy over their bodies. “ Disrespect and abuse of pregnant women in health facilities take in physical abuse, non-consented clinical care, non-confidential care, non-dignified care (including verbal abuse), discrimination based on specific patient attributes, abandonment of care, and detention in facilities,” said Marian Ndimani, a maternal health care researcher. She added: “There is mistreatment of pregnant women in most maternity facilities as health care providers sometimes beat them or use harsh words among other forms of abuse, and women who experience violence during their pregnancies potentially face a num