KUMBE KUMBE ARTS TRUST

Kumbe Kumbe Arts Trust is a youth organisation that uses various forms of art for positive change in Zimbabwean society. They are strongly committed to community concerns and issues.

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Art for Peace 2023

With the Art for Peace project, Kumbe Kumbe Arts Trust is part of the Initiative for Small Grants 2023, in which young artists develop methods for peacebuilding through visual art. For this purpose, an exchange of 5 young art activists from each of the organisations Kumbe Kumbe Arts Trust and Shamva takes place, in which the use of art in public relations is discussed. The aim is to create a joint mural in Shamva (mixture of drawings and graffiti) that presents a call for peace and conflict transformation. The mural will depict peace stories and events that speak for an end to violence and for more political tolerance.

SIYA – SIMUKAUPENYE INTEGRATED YOUTH ACADEMY

Simukaupenye Integrated Youth Academy is a youth-led non-profit organisation working for effective youth leadership and participation in development programmes in Shamva District, Zimbabwe.

She leads

As part of the small grants initiative, SIYA trains young women to be leaders through the “She leads” project. They are trained to be confident and learn the skills needed to stand strong as leaders, mobilise other community members and thus strive for positive change for women’s esteem and respect.

Emergency aid in the crisis area Cabo Delgado

The crisis in the region is not over yet. fepa has, however, completed the emergency aid. Together with the local partner:organisation, we are now committed to a longer-term development perspective with the participation of the population.

Currently

Check out our news page (German) for the latest on this partnership.

Background

Since 2017, the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique has been plagued by warlike turmoil. The anger and discontent of the population are fuelled by Islamist terrorists and criminal elements. In early 2021, the war reached a climax with the capture of the district capital Palma. In the process, the population was caught between the fronts of state security forces and insurgents. As a result, 700,000 people fled to other districts in the province. The influx of refugees poses a major challenge for the local population around the provincial capital of Pemba.

The causes of the conflict are complex. An important role is played by the large gas deposits that the French company Total wants to exploit with a gigantic gas liquefaction project on the coast off Palma. The project, worth 120 billion US The project, worth 120 billion US dollars, was stopped for security reasons after the attack on Palma. The local population realised that they could expect nothing from the promises. On the contrary, they were driven off their land. There is also a lot going wrong in the area, where illegal gemstone mining and smuggling as well as drug trafficking routes endanger the security of the local people. In addition, there are corrupt government employees who are only interested in self-enrichment.

fepa’s engagement

From 2005 to 2009, fepa carried out a mosquito net project in cooperation with Reiner Bernath, a doctor from Solothurn, in Mocimboa da Praia, near the border with Tanzania, to protect mothers and small children from malaria. Reiner Bernath had been on assignment there as a doctor for the Cabo Delgado Health Directorate and wanted to make an additional contribution after his return. Now the hospital of Mocimboa da Praia has been destroyed and many inhabitants of the formerly peaceful little coastal village have had to flee. Through an acquaintance in Pemba, Reiner Bernath was able to secure direct help for refugees. He contacted fepa again to organise further aid. It became apparent that the arrival of a large number of displaced persons was generating land conflicts with the local population. For this reason, fepa also supports a theatre group, the Associação Cultural Novos Horizontes, which works towards conflict resolution by raising awareness in the districts. Despite the usual difficulties, theatre performances were held in the centres of Mecufi, Montepuez and Ancuabe in front of more than 9,000 spectators.

Art and Society

Cultural practitioners hold up a mirror to society. And art is often also directly a means of civil society work: it can transport information and call for action. We are making a small contribution to raising awareness of the work of artists.

Here is a list of artists we have portrayed:

• Thandoe Sibanda (poet)
• Racheal “Voko “Ncube (poet)
• Tamary Kudita (photographer)
• Jeremy David Ambrose Kupfuwa (photographer)
• Hope Masike (singer, dancer, visual artist, poet)
• Ndomupeishe “Ndomzy” Chipendo (dancer, singer)

Music…

… has long been closely linked to politics. Read here some texts on the specific situation in Zimbabwe.

In the May 2023 journal we published a text by F. D. Mhlanga on this very topic. The author sheds light on the Zimbabwean situation and puts the link between music and politics in a historical context. You can find the full text here.

Politically motivated artists

Thomas Mapfumo

The Zimbabwean Thomas Mapfumo was born in 1945. He showed an interest in traditional music from his early childhood. In 1973, he joined his first band, the Hallelujah Chicken Band. After switching from English to dialect, he used his music to spread calls for freedom. This genre is called chimurenga. It became a symbol of efforts against injustice in war-torn Rhodesia. Around 1978, he formed the band Blacks Unlimited. He continuously spoke out against the colonialist regime, even though he faced censorship and repression from the system. His music spread like wildfire. After Zimbabwe’s declaration of independence in 1980, Mapfumo shared the stage with Bob Marley. This led to his international success. His music was no longer dedicated to the struggle for independence, but to corruption and poverty. Even in the new Zimbabwe, he was not spared censorship and more, so that he finally moved to the USA in 2000. He was able to return to Zimbabwe in 2018 after 14 years in exile.

Winky D

Born in 1983, this singer is known for his music in the Zimdancehall genre. He is considered one of the pioneers of this genre. His songs address social injustice and corruption. He refers to a regime that suppresses freedom of opinion and speech. This is also evident on 4 March 2023, when Winky D was taken off stage by the police during a concert. The stop came after the singer performed the song Ibotso from his latest album. The song addresses the decay and injustices of the country. Despite opposition from the government, the singer has managed to bag a number of awards: most recently Best African Dancehall Entertainer 2023 and Best male artist in South Africa 2023.

Hope Masike

Masike’s music may be a colourful mix of styles, but the sounds of the mbira remain a constant. They have also earned the singer-songwriter the title “Princess of the Mbira”. In her music, she combines traditional and modern and often challenges colonial stigmas. She has collaborated with many artists, including Oliver Mtukudzi. We have already portrayed the multi-talented artist in our newsletter.

Oliver Mtukudzi

Mtukudzi, also known as Tuku, like Mapfumo, also accompanied Zimbabwe through the liberation struggles with his music. His music was a mixture of Afro-jazz, pop and funk. It offered the people at least a temporary distraction in difficult times. In 2007, his music was already interpreted more politically than he wanted. He says of himself that he doesn’t understand anything about politics and doesn’t like to talk about the then President Mugabe.  With excuses like these and his national popularity, he can evade the interrogations of the secret police. He was particularly committed to Zimbabwe during the HIV epidemic. Mtukudzi died in January 2019 at the age of 66.

Women and development

Women* have equal rights as men and contribute to all development processes. That is why the situation of women should be improved.

It is social conditions that give the impression that men play more important roles in improving the world: Since 1901, 90 men and only 17 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and at the WEF, only 24% of the 3,000 invited guests were women.

Development needs gender equality

On the other hand, “gender inequality is one of the greatest obstacles to sustainable development, economic growth and poverty reduction”, as the SDC writes. The UN has therefore made gender equality a goal of the sustainability agenda (Goal 5): “We recognise that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls make a crucial contribution to progress. Humanity cannot realise its full potential as long as half the people are denied their human rights and opportunities.” Science underpins these political statements.

Economic development: No growth without women

In 1984, the UN presented its first report on the role of women in development. At that time, the focus was still very much on women’s contribution to economic growth. Even then, the UN did not fail to notice that many labour-intensive production processes in the industrial sector were being relocated to the global South. In the special export zones, the share of women in industrial enterprises was often already over 80%. Women would also benefit from these shifts, but the report referred to the need to achieve improvements for women in the industrial sector. At that time, it was also already known that women play a huge role in agriculture and that the promotion of women in the agricultural production environment was therefore not only about gender issues, but also about “growth”. And then the report did not forget to insist on the need to give more weight to women in science and technology as well as in finance in order to strengthen development. Since then, much has happened – and yet somehow too little. Above all, new problems have been recognised. The latest 2019 report, for example, is about the role of women in unpaid work. You can find more on the economic issues here.

Social development

At fepa, however, we do not only believe in the role of women as an economic force. Women’s equality is a prerequisite for peace and dignity and thus also for sustainable development. Only when girls and women are allowed to develop freely and according to their potential in every respect do societies fully prosper.

This is why we have been advocating for women since the early 1960s – as part of our development and peace work. The fact that this work has always been strongly influenced by women is certainly one of the main reasons why fepa has always been sensitive to issues of women’s rights and the advancement of women. You can find out more about fepa and our commitment to women’s issues here. So, because our concept of development is broader than just economic development and growth, we believe that in a whole range of areas women not only have a role to play, but that we need to make important improvements in order to make development truly valuable.

Obstacles to the development of (young) women in Zimbabwe

Roswita Katsande, Director of the Zimbabwean Youth Organisation YETT describes the current situation for women in Zimbabwe thus:

“Women here are seen as responsible for the domestic sphere and are supposed to raise the children.

Young women in urban Zimbabwe encounter many difficulties on a daily basis that stem from an unequal power relationship between the sexes. They stand up for their communities, struggle daily for land, water, jobs and yet face systematic discrimination simply because they are women.

For women, this means sexual and physical violence, fewer opportunities to attend school, higher than average vulnerability to HIV, and lack of access to property and other rights.

Urban poverty is widespread in Zimbabwe and prevents women from accessing health care and education. As unemployment rises, so does violence against women.

Climate change reinforces unfair gender relations. Where there is a lot of poverty, the disadvantage of girls and women often increases. But climate change also has a very direct impact: Water shortages have a particularly strong effect on women and girls, as they bring the water home. The situation has been exacerbated by the nationwide energy crisis, as high fuel prices have led to increased use of firewood, which women also have to search for.

In all this, women have too little say. Where decisions are made in political structures, for example, women remain marginalised.”

Reading tip

Over the years, the discussion has moved from “women and development” to “women in (development) processes” to “gender and development”. Under the latter title, a journal worth reading has existed for 25 years.

Women and Health

All people have a right to health. Good health is important for full enjoyment of life. Illness, on the other hand, is an important risk factor for poverty. [1] This is true for individuals, but also for entire countries that, like Zimbabwe, are suffering from the effects of the HIV epidemic.

Health and Inequality

In Zimbabwe, as in other sub-Saharan countries, women’s health is relatively severely affected: in this context, one speaks of a so-called “health burden”. This burden is strongly influenced by inequality. This is the subject of a report [2] from 2016 with data from many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (including Zimbabwe, for the period 2010-2011). There are great inequalities not only between the sexes, but also between women. These are greatest when it comes to childbirth and pregnancy – across sub-Saharan Africa, only about half of pregnant women receive the most basic medical support. The main factors explaining these inequalities are level of education, financial situation, and place of residence, or accessibility to medical facilities. For young women under 20, it is also crucial whether they are married or not – girls who marry early have a significantly higher health burden.

In Zimbabwe, medical services for pregnant women are only moderately developed. Good health care systems for pregnant women and women in childbirth are therefore of utmost importance in order to protect women’s lives. In Zimbabwe, UNICEF reports a mortality rate of 581 women per 100,000 live births. [3] By comparison, in Switzerland, 7 women die for every 100,000 births. [4] The Sustainable Development Goals target is a global average of 30 women per 100,000. Given the current crisis in public health (said to be in a coma), Zimbabwe is likely to have taken major steps backwards in recent months. As a country with a very high rate of HIV-infected are in Zimbabwe, at least access to family planning and to HIV testing in Zimbabwe is relatively good. The HIV infection rate in Zimbabwe in 2018 was 12.7% (of 15-49 year olds). [5] Although the figure has decreased, the number remains high. Young women are at particularly high risk of infection: for every young man who becomes infected, there are now 2.5 girls and young women.

Health and gender norms

Patriarchal gender images and perceptions, just like social injustice, also have an impact on female health. In the case of HIV, this is mainly related to the high exposure of young women to older men. Many women engage in occasional sex work and are then at high risk. It is not only that clients refuse condoms. Often it is also the police who harass the women. [6] Around half of regular sex workers carry HIV.

Remedy thanks to norm change…

A comparative study published in the Lancet in December 2019 looked at programmes that combined health interventions with a commitment to tackling gender inequality and which, thanks to comprehensive evaluation, provide important insights for future interventions. [7] According to the authors, approaches are most likely to succeed if they

• involve multiple sectors (i.e. civil society, government and private sector)
• act at different levels and through different actors (e.g. acting in communities and in the broader legislative space).
• combine multi-faceted activities
• involve active participation and even empowerment

The study particularly points to the limitations of programmes that focused almost exclusively on the health and equality of individuals. There is even a certain danger of backlash here, both for the individuals and overall. This is why, according to the study, “societal and structural elements of restrictive gender norms would undermine efforts… and complicate health improvements outside of holistic, systemic approaches.” Or more simply: those who shake up socially entrenched norms will have more success in the long run.

… and active participation of the people

But that’s just it: Norms cannot be prescribed either. So the members of the target groups remain important: they need to be involved, according to the study in the Lancet, because their joint reflection in the group and community is one of the most important prerequisites for success.

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Footnotes and links

[1] «Health for all within a Generation», Manifest of MMS-network (Medicus Mundi Switzerland)

[2] Inequalities in Women’s And Girls’ Health Opportunities And Outcomes: A report from Sub-Saharan Africa

[3] UNICEF, Report

[4] NZZ from 8.10.2006

[5] UNAIDS 2019

[6] https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/zimbabwe

[7] Characteristics Of Successful Programmes Targeting Gender Inequality And Restrictive Gender Norms For The Health And Wellbeing Of Children, Adolescents, And Young Adults: A Systematic Review