By Nyasha Dube
Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) Zvishavane chapter secretary Florance Makutya has commended the women’s rights movement for continuously curating awareness sessions that empower women to advocate for their rights.
The organization recently hosted an educational session to strengthen self-advocacy for women’s health rights in the mining town in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day held annually on July 28.
The disease kills more than 1,3 million people yearly.
The session focused on hepatitis B and sexual reproductive health (SRH) awareness.
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus which is transmitted through contact with infected blood or body fluids. This can occur through unprotected sexual contact, sharing of needles, or from an infected mother to baby during birth.
The infection leads to inflammation, irritation, or swelling of the liver.
Makutya described the awareness session as enlightening.
“Previously we were not aware of hepatitis B and how it spreads. The session provided us with knowledge on how this infection is transmitted and how as women we can protect ourselves,” Makutya said.
She added that most women also lacked bargaining power to negotiate for health rights due to ignorance.
“Most women were also not confident about their SRH rights and some did not know that they have such a right. Women shared how they sometimes fail to access proper services at health facilities because they aren’t aware of their rights. They end up being subjected to ill-treatment by health workers,” she said.
During a session on understanding women’s health rights in the Zvishavane community, District Health Promotion Officer, Rumbidzai Chikwana assited women to identify the existing gaps hindering them to enjoy health rights.
Women’s health rights include mental, maternal, and reproductive amongst others. The right to health is a core human right that has many aspects, including Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, Quality, Participation, Accountability, and Equity.
Women in Zvishavane also said they have limited access to healthcare due to the long distances they have to walk to get to health centers, citing examples like ward 19 Rupemba where Gudo clinic is 12 kilometers away. This exposes women to maternal mortality sometimes as they will seek alternative maternal services from untrained people. Women have challenges paying for the high consultation fees pegged by private healthcare providers while the public institutions are inadequately resourced.
Women from the urban area lamented water unavailability which poses health challenge as families are exposed to various diseases.
One of the women Rowayi Kasiyapasi said, “lack of water resulted in contamination of so many residents with daihorreah in Mandava.”
Melody Ncube identified that lack of family planning services can lead to unplanned pregnancies.
“The situation exposes mothers to GBV as men expect it to be the duty of wives to secure family planning pills or other methods. There are also allegations of corrupt nurses who sell medicines out of hospitals,” she said.
Women in Zvishavane also do not have health insurance coverage. This is a serious gap considering that the district experiences recurring cases of cholera and is prone to climate-induced disaster emergencies. Women gave examples of hailstorms which destroyed homes and school blocks in the previous rainfall season in ward 6.
The women also said the nurse-to-patient ratio is worrisome, giving the example of Zvishavane district hospital which has been heavily affected by brain drain as nurses are moving to the diaspora. This exposes women to a lack of quality care and the limited nurses do not handle patients well due to frustration.
Fortune Shanga narrated how she was ill-treated as a patient in the maternal ward at the district hospital.
Rural women especially from the apostolic sect expressed low health literacy levels and incomplete perceptions of health, hence they end up exposed to diseases like cholera. During the most recent outbreak, they did not comprehend the importance of handwashing and boiling water. Instead the apostolic sect erected tents downstream Runde river where they were offering water-based treatment alternatives for cholera.
Nollen Manomano, a woman with disability, bemoaned how women with disabilities are treated with disrespect when they are pregnant.
“Society perpetuates the narrative that it is a sin for a woman with disability to fall pregnant. This limits their access and enjoyment of reproductive health rights,” she said.
The Victim Friendly Unit also shared information about reporting mechanisms when women experience sexual assault.