VZCZCXRO0178
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #1247/01 2890944
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160944Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0700
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1337
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1188
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1341
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0092
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0602
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RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1164
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1816
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUFGNOA/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1558

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001247 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR S. HILL 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM KWMN PGOV PHUM ZI
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENTARY WOMEN'S CAUCUS GAINING GREATER VOICE 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (U) Zimbabwe,s Parliamentary Women,s Caucus on October 
6 met with civil society and donor representatives to call 
for greater cooperation across party lines on gender issues. 
Participants at the meeting said that the Caucus, which is 
lead by ZANU-PF MP Flora Bhuka and MDC MP Thokozani Khupe, 
was able to set aside political disagreements on issues of 
common concern, such as passage of the Domestic Violence 
Bill.  The Caucus criticized opponents of the Bill and on 
October 9 marched to the opposition,s headquarters to 
protest sexist statements by MDC MP Timothy Mubawu.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Female Legislators Call For Greater Unity 
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¶2.  (U) POL/ECON FSN attended a meeting of the Parliamentary 
Women,s Caucus on October 6.  Caucus Chairperson Flora 
Bhuka, ZANU-PF Minister for Land Reform, commended the body 
for its work on issues of concern to women.  Echoing Bhuka,s 
comment, ZANU-PF Minister of Women,s Affairs Oppah 
Muchinguri stated that the members of the Caucus from both 
ZANU-PF and the MDC have been able to put their political 
differences aside and collaborate over a common agenda 
involving women,s issues.  Caucus deputy chairwoman MP 
Thokozani Khupe, who is the anti-Senate MDC Vice President, 
also participated in the meeting, demonstrating the 
by-partisan nature of the body.  (Note:  Despite the 
inter-party good-will, Muchinguri cautioned that she works 
for ZANU-PF and needs to respect the party,s policies  End 
Note.) 
 
¶3.  (U) Caucus leaders made an appeal to civil society and 
donor attendees to assist legislators pushing for gender 
equality.  Bhuka said that training of female elected 
officials should be a top priority and asked the NGOs to work 
with women contesting the October 28 rural council elections 
to help them understand and appreciate their roles as leaders 
in society.  She said that out of the 1,200 candidates, 370 
were women.  Bhuka emphasized that the Caucus would like to 
see women represented in greater numbers in decision making 
bodies. 
 
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Attacking Critics of Domestic Violence Bill 
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¶4.  (U) The Women,s Caucus called on its members to rally 
for the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill, which would 
criminalize abuse committed within a household.  The draft 
law is currently in the House of Assembly, after having been 
revised slightly following a public hearing last month. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Caucus members expressed outrage at the 
statements of anti-Senate MDC MP Timothy Mubawu during a 
Parliamentary debate on the Bill October 5 when he said &the 
bill was diabolic and that it is &against God,s principles 
that women and men should be equal.8  Inspired by the Caucus 
meeting, on October 10 approximately 60 women from the 
Women,s Coalition ) a grouping of women,s rights NGOs - 
marched to Parliament and the anti-Senate MDC headquarters, 
carrying placards denouncing domestic violence and Mubawu. 
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai addressed the marchers at 
his office to acknowledge their concerns, but he urged them 
to demonstrate against all forms of violence in Zimbabwean 
society, not domestic violence alone. 
 
HARARE 00001247  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  (SBU) Domestic violence against women is pervasive in 
Zimbabwe due to both shortcomings in the existing law and a 
general unwillingness to prosecute by police and courts, 
which generally see this type of abuse as a social norm, 
rather than a crime.  The Domestic Violence Bill would expand 
the rights of women and make a strong symbolic statement on 
the need for better enforcement.  It was encouraging, if 
rare, to see members of parliament from both sides of the 
aisle put aside their differences and come together on an 
important issue such as domestic violence.  This was likely 
the result of the strong constituencies that exist within 
ZANU-PF and both opposition factions on women,s issues. 
Unfortunately, the odious Mubawu and others who think like 
him are also to be found throughout the political system, 
though in ever fewer numbers. 
SCHULTZ