Women protesters demand free education for children in Zimbabwe
Women march in Bulawayo ahead of the new school term
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Thousands of women took to the streets of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe听yesterday to demand free education for their children as听protests against the government mount across the country.
The protest dubbed #BoycottSchoolFees was organised by Women听of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), who presented a petition to the听resident minister ahead of the new school term early next month.
The protest, involving about 2000 women, follows about a听dozen protests in the past two months over a series of issues,听including the planned introduction of controversial bond notes听to curb a long-running cash shortage crisis.
国产视频淲e want government to honour its constitutional obligation听to provide education for all,国产视频 Jennie Williams, WOZA听co-ordinator, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
According to parent associations, thousands of children have听been thrown out of classes around the country for failing to pay听tuition at a time when millions are without jobs in the country.
Labour unions estimate that up to 90% of Zimbabwe国产视频檚听14 million people do not have jobs but there is no clear data on听the jobless rate with so many Zimbabweans working in the听informal sector.
UNICEF said in a recent report that regular monitoring听continued to show a downward trend in terms of school attendance听but it did not have exact figures on numbers in classrooms.
However the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Committee reported last听month that up to 15% of rural school children were out of听school because they cannot afford tuition fees.
The march came as pressure mounts against 92-year-old听President Robert Mugabe amid the continuing economic crisis. Police have arrested more than 100 protesters across the country over the past two months during which Zimbabwe has witnessed almost weekly protests, some which have ended in clashes with police, against economic hardship.
According to Williams, none of the women protesters were听arrested in Thursday国产视频檚 march which lasted more than an hour with听women carrying petitions and flyers to hand out to onlookers.听
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