Women and Law Enforcement in - Zimbabwe - Report produced by IDASA (An African Democracy Institute), and the Research and

The police have a responsibility to respect human rights3, but the fate of women activists, especially those from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members, tells a different story.4 In a series of reports from 2007, WOZA demonstrated the perils of both being an activist and female5, showing the kinds of abuse and the consequences of abuse at the hands of the police. [...] The fact that the appointment of the Commissioner General of Police is at the prerogative of the Presidency can be problematic in that it can compromise the commissioner‟s ability to act impartially and without political bias. [...] Responsibility for enforcing the law Fifty four percent [54%] of the women in response to the question, who in their opinion should be responsible for enforcing the laws of Zimbabwe, stated that the police force is the responsible body for the enforcement of laws of the country. [...] 25% of the women felt that the government should be responsible, 12% indicated that the responsibility should be that of the judiciary, 8% reported parliament as the responsible body, while 2% stated the army should be responsible for the enforcement of the law. [...] Application of the law A statement was posed in the questionnaire to determine whether the women agreed or disagreed with the notion that law enforcement agents should apply the law fairly and use the law to protect 23 The most recent case WOZA v Attorney General SC 22/10, also discusses the illegality of the arrest of WOZA women during a peaceful march.