Yesterday Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, in a ceremony at the White House. President Barack Obama was there to hand over the award to the founding members Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams, and video can be seen here.
I am a great admirer of Obama, and in particular his talent of making speeches. I watched his speeches in Moscow, Cairo and Accra, but for me this was one of his finest. In his presidential campaign, he spoke endlessly about hope, and I think he met the manifestation of hope in the form of WOZA.
It can be so frustrating that after nearly 30 years of Mugabe’s dictatorship, there doesn’t seem to be anybody willing to stand up to him anymore. But it takes the women of Zimbabwe to prove this assumption wrong, as the members of WOZA have taken countless beatings and never backed down. They are an inspiration to Zimbabweans around the world for their courage, bravery and determination.
But there is still work to be done. WOZA deserve all the accolades they receive, but there is still so much to do. It’s not very often that Zimbabwe has a good day, but the 23rd November 2009 was one of those.
