Female student leaders face ongoing harassment

In November 2019, Abiona Mataranyika made history by becoming the first female to be elected as president of the University of Zimbabwe Student Representative Council, more than six decades after the inception of this higher learning institution.

It has not been an easy road, and she has had to face continuing cyber-bullying, including trolling and insensitive and defamatory remarks.

Yet Mataranyika, who is pursuing a dual honours degree in French and Portuguese, soldiered on.

In an interview with University World News, she said the online harassment continues up to this day.

“There was character assassination. People would create ghost accounts to say bad things about me. There was body shaming; wanting to make me feel inferior,” she said.

At one point she asked herself if it was worth it, but didn’t quit. “Women should continue to be strong, to show that we are not weak. Those who have made it should continue to encourage others. Women must continue empowering themselves each and every day,” she said.

She said females are also guilty of harassing their fellow women.

“I think some people are not used to the idea of a woman being the president. Online harassment continues up to now. People are still having a hard time adjusting.”

Female Students Network Trust director Evernice Munando said that, as a result of the online harassment, including defamation, gossip and rumours, some female students thought it was better not to participate in leadership roles.

Some of them, who may not be strong enough, end up withdrawing their candidature because of this malice.

“It [bullying] manifests in various ways, including even [sharing] nude pictures of female students. Whatever might have happened [in their lives] long ago [is] being put online now.

“It is sad, as we have been advocating for gender equality in tertiary institutions,” she added.

Lip service to laws

Zimbabwe has enacted a number of laws to uphold women’s rights since the country’s independence in 1980. These include the Education Act, Equal Pay Regulations (1980), the Legal Age of Majority Act (1982), the Matrimonial Causes Act (1986), the Sex Discrimination Removal Act (1990), the Sexual Offences Act (2001) and the Domestic Violence Act (2007).

There has also been affirmative action to enable more women to access higher education. Currently, female students make up 54% of the total number of students at universities, and 74% at teachers’ colleges.

Despite the laws and lip service to women’s rights, Nancy Njenge, the gender secretary of the Zimbabwe National Students Union, said it was inevitable that female student leaders and activists would suffer online harassment in Zimbabwe.

One reason, said sociologist Precious Shumba, was that men still looked down upon women as a result of their socialisation.

“Males identify themselves as the leaders, regarding women as only good in the private sphere and not in the public sphere. The objective of body shaming is to undermine the women’s confidence in themselves, thus perpetuating male hegemony,” he said.

Innocent Dombo, the outgoing Students Representative Council president at the National University of Science and Technology, added: “It’s just failed parenting that has taken us where we are. Parents should teach their children to respect women so that we do not have challenges in varsities.”

‘Your image gets tainted’

Njenge faced problems similar to those of Mataranyika when she sought to be elected a student leader in 2018 at the National University of Science and Technology.

“Basically, when you are female and you are prominent or you are promising or you are competent enough, and you are in a male-dominated field, you usually face harassment,” she said.

“If you get a position, some people assume you are dating someone influential or a high-ranking politician. People try to harass you, they try to body shame you ...” she added.

“It’s still happening. I don’t think it will stop soon. Your image gets tainted. People cook up a lot of stories. People try to break your self-esteem. They comment on your dressing, on your looks. They even say: ‘She is ugly; she does not dress well.’ There is body shaming, image tainting.”

Ideas must be on par

Sexual harassment remains an issue, Njenge said, and some of it comes from male former student leaders who believe that, to help you with your campaign, you have to do sexual favours for them.

To stop sexual harassment, Njenge says, both men and women must be taught to be tolerant, and women must be empowered to ensure that, when they are campaigning, they don’t just use the gender card but play to their real strengths.

When she campaigns as a student leader, she does not mention gender. This disarms those who want to attack her using the gender element.

“I presented my ideas and made sure that my ideas were on a par with the male ideas. I raised my points without asking for sympathy from anyone ... I use social skills to get votes, I talk to people, form networks, establish relationships.

“That worked for me, it’s still working. I fought my battles genuinely. It’s all about strategising as a woman and looking at the bigger picture,” she said.

Men often assume that society has passed the phase of women’s empowerment, and that equality has been achieved. This is not the case, she said.

But the bullying of student leaders is not likely to stop overnight.

Sociologist Dr Julius Musevenzi, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, believes the victimisation of women leaders emanates from male students who fear to be challenged by women.

“Threats and verbal abuse are a strategy used by males to subjugate female contestants to either withdraw or move out of politics completely,” he said.

“Even post-election abuse, using social media platforms, tells you that male students would want to assert their authority on those who threatened their access to power.

“During the lockdown period, since last year, student activism has lost its mojo because it thrives on physical gatherings of students. Now that student leaders have nothing to do, they end up engaging in this type of politics, abusing female leaders who were contestants.

“This is because their elections were the only political activity … They [male students] still have energy and want to show that they are political animals with great potential but have nowhere to show that and female contestants become their only option to waste their energy towards, but in an uncouth way.”

A local students’ group called SayWhat has been running a social media campaign to end online harassment in Zimbabwe, calling it “a form of gender-based violence”.

“Before creating, saving or passing on information, THINK! Ending cyber bullying is everyone’s responsibility,” is the message.