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Zimbabwe is a much-maligned place, possibly because there is much about it to malign.

In Zimbabwe, a person can be charged with rape only if the victim is female.

This could be why authorities in the country are reporting an escalation in rapes by women on men - there have been five such incidents in the past 12 months.

In the latest, in Bulawayo yesterday, a 26-year-old man was offered a lift by three woman. He was drugged and robbed of his money and mobile phone.

When he woke up, "He was naked and the ladies took turns to rape and abuse him,'' police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said.

Police say the motive could have been ritualistic. We assume they aren't talking about the theft of the money and phone.

The first of these female gang attacks happened last November when three women kidnapped an 18-year-old man.

In February, four women forced a 25-year-old to have sex with them at gunpoint.

Last month, a 44-year-old man was raped by two women while a man stood guard. In this case, the victim was ordered to wear a condom.

In a fourth incident, a 30-year-old man was drugged by three women, two of whom had guns, and sexually assaulted.

If any of these women, or male accomplices, are caught, they could be charged with theft and assault. But not rape.
news.com.au

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Africa, Zimbabwe, Sex, Sexism

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A show of sanity

March 8th 2009 00:48

tsvangirai susan morgan zimbabwe politics racism

Susan and Morgan Tsvangirai

The week has had its share of ugliness. On Orble we have confronted the themes of racism and intolerance, and the people who foster it for selfish motives. And yesterday we learned of fresh tragedy in Zimbabwe, with the news that Susan Tsvangirai, wife of the country's face of hope, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has died in car accident.

Mr Tsvangirai and his wife were travelling to a political rally when their vehicle was hit by the trailer of a truck travelling in the opposite direction. Mrs Tsvangirai, who was on the side of the car hit by the trailer, was killed. Mr Tsvangirai was "slightly hurt".

They had been married 33 years and had six children. Mrs Tsvangirai was not politically active but was constantly seen by her husband's side at public functions and has been described as his pillar of strength and the "mother of the party".

Foul play is suspected. If Robert Mugabe, who recently agreed to a power-sharing arrangement with Mr Tsvangirai after failing to hold power in a national election which he turned into a farce, is not behind the death of Susan Tsvangirai, it would be a surprise. And, in a grimly ironic way, it would make little difference. Mugabe's long history of murder and torture is indisputable.

This morning, as I am still digesting all this, my wife is preparing to do something which should be ordinary but which suddenly seems extraordinary.

She and a substantial number of other people are going to spend all day rehearsing for a performance this evening of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Gondoliers. The rehearsal today will be the only rehearsal, meaning a lot of people, some of whom know the music and some of whom do not, will be gathering to sing and learn and prepare, all in a few hours, for a full-scale operatic performance this evening.

It's a fairly new concept but a popular one. An orchestra and some professionals who will sing the major roles will come for the performance, as will an audience which will have moderate expectations of the quality and high expectations of the fun factor.

All these people choosing to spend a healthy slice of their weekend leisure time trying to learn a major musical work which they will then perform passably at best strikes me as utterly, beautifully, wonderfully, comfortingly sane.

It will be hard work, but I have no doubt that when my wife arrives home late tonight, exhausted after the mental and physical strain of her extraordinary day, she will have a smile a mile wide.

The honest pleasure of real life. If only Robert Mugabe understood what he is missing.
bbc.co.uk, news.com.au; image: Agence France Presse

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