Peter Gabriel, Susan Sarandon, and Cyndi Lauper Urge Zimbabwean Government to End Politically Motivated Violence Against Women

NEW YORK, November 17 - Peter Gabriel, Susan Sarandon, Cyndi Lauper, and Citizen Cope have signed
a petition calling on Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, to help
end politically motivated violence against women. Their actions were inspired
by remarks made by Kuda Chitsike, Program Manager at the Research and
Advocacy Unit in Zimbabwe and keynote speaker at the WITNESS Focus for Change
Benefit Dinner and Concert in New York last week.

(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090327/DC89763LOGO)

In 2007, Ms. Chitsike and her organization partnered with WITNESS, the
international human rights organization, to produce visual evidence of
violence against women in the region.

In 2008, political violence erupted throughout Zimbabwe as a result of
highly contested national elections. Between the months of May and July,
local organizations estimate that state-sanctioned groups abducted, raped,
tortured, and beat over 2,000 women and girls due to their political
affiliations. Human rights groups believe these numbers to be much greater,
as currently there are no formal mechanisms to report these types of attacks.
Local police ignore these women's pleas for protection and accountability,
and national leaders have been equally unresponsive. As the country prepares
for another election year, women's groups are bracing again for an increase
in attacks for real or perceived affiliations with the MDC Party, headed by
Mr. Tsvangirai.

Signatories implore Prime Minister Tsvangirai to ensure that the
government of Zimbabwe investigate and prosecute all cases of politically
motivated violence against women and bring the perpetrators to justice, as
stipulated in the Global Political Agreement through national justice
institutions, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol
on Gender and Development, or SADC tribunal. The petition advocates for
financial assistance, including medical and psycho-social support, to women
who have experienced violence, as reiterated by the Zimbabwean Global
Political Agreement and the South African Development Community Protocol on
Gender and Development.

WITNESS (witness.org) uses the power of video to open the eyes of the
world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organizations around
the globe, WITNESS empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool to
shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations, and to
transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools of justice.

Suvasini Patel of WITNESS, +1-718-783-2000 ext. 316, suvasini at witness.org