Marange Womens Alliance
Marange Womens Alliance Building a Chicken Coop
The Marange Womens Alliance (MWA) is the program partner of the Responsible Jewelry Transformative. MWA was founded with support from RJT, and the two organizations continue a productive, impactful and sustainable partnership that delivers innovative initiatives in the most vulnerable villages of Chiadzwa and the wider Marange region of Zimbabwe.
Mission: To prevent human rights abuses by providing education, self-empowering support and by raising awareness in the international community.
Vision: All women and children of Marange are able to live safely and move freely in the region without fear, intimidation and political pressure. MWA believes that all of Marange’s citizens should have access to water, medical services and constitutional human rights.
MWA is a registered community based organization and a membership organization of 100 women, including survivors, women and girls from the lowest income groups, human rights defenders and gender advocates. MWA has the full support of the Member of Parliament, the local council and the headman, and has never been denied a permit to hold events. The first female chief of police has spoken at MWA events and joined the women on their initiatives.
Our Beginnings: The Human Rights and Diamond Symposium
In November 2020, the Responsible Jewelry Transformative held a two day symposium on Human Rights in the Diamond Supply Chain. The symposium examined human rights violations reported in mining communities producing Kimberley Process certified diamonds, with the goal of bringing awareness of these abuses to the jewelry industry.
The symposium featured interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch with people affected by abuse, including residents of Chiadzwa village in Mutare, Zimbabwe. At the close of one interview, a community member said: “As a mother and a woman, it is hard for the women and the girls that are suffering and I think there must be more awareness of human rights. The girl child must be equipped with enough information on human rights, they have no today, no tomorrow. Someone somewhere must give them hope.”
That call became the seed of the Marange Womens Alliance. Community members asked for help sharing their legal and constitutional rights as citizens of Zimbabwe, because knowledge of one’s rights, and of the legal recourse to protect them, is essential to overcoming abuse. The community chose the rights to be shared, Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch paired each right with its corresponding law, and the messages were translated into Shona and shared across the community through WhatsApp.
From that first initiative, MWA has grown into a survivor-led membership organization working to end violence against women and girls in mining-affected communities.
A Community of Trust
Over four years, MWA has built a community of trust across the Marange area through survivor-led events, peer support and partnerships with more than 20 community based organizations from Zimbabwe and the region. Its work centers on ending violence against women and girls, and engages community leaders, health workers, police, mine security and youth as agents of change.
Annual Events
Human Rights Day and 16 Days of Activism marches, survivor-led marches through town centers and mining areas, each bringing together about 200 women and girls.
Netball Champions Against Trafficking, held on the UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which drew more than 400 participants to its first event.
Community Clean Ups, which combine collective action with rights awareness and survivor support for about 100 community members at each event.
MWA Anniversary Celebration, bringing together the membership of 100 women.
Ongoing Programs
Tuesday Talks, virtual sessions held for more than three years that address sensitive local and national issues with the women of Marange and an international audience.
Clinic outreach that connects survivors and vulnerable women with health care, testing and treatment.
Beyond the Mines, a workshop that brought police, security guards, survivors and MWA together with an anti-trafficking coalition from Michigan.
A documentary film on trafficking in the diamond mines, screened at Zimbabwe’s national meeting on trafficking and at jewelry conferences in the United States.
The WhatsApp Help Line and The Five Coops, which provide crisis support and alternative livelihoods for women.
MWA Projects
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Community Events
MWA makes an impact with powerful community events throughout the year promoting Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet. The events are held on UN Days to raise awareness, promote action and offer supportive outreach. These events are lead with care and love.
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Tuesday Talks
Tuesday Talks provide education and insights for the most pressing issues in Marange. MWA members organize talks every Tuesday inviting partner organizations to speak and inviting MWA members and international stakeholders to join the conversation. The Tuesday Talks valuable programing unties local and international audiences.
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The Billboard Campaign
MWA is combating sex trafficking in mines through established frameworks and interventions. The Billboard Campaign focuses on education and training, collaborating with other community-based organizations, Anjin Mine, and the international jewelry industry to strengthen the fight against trafficking. Together RJT and MWA is the leading the way in fighting trafficking in the the extractives.
Meet the MWA Leadership
Billian Matambo
Memory Nyakunu
Blessing Simango
Susan Muchena
UN Women
RJT and MWA work in partnership as commitment makers to UN Women’s Generation Equality. We implement the frameworks and reference the education offered through UN Women. We enact the agenda under a Global Acceleration Plan for gender equality that defines the most critical actions needed to accelerate progress. Together we focus on creating an environment for gender equality, building capacity, and building sustainable partnerships.