Following weeks of public demonstrations against corruption, bad governance and a rapidly deteriorating economy, people all across Zimbabwe heeded a call last week for a nationwide stay-away, in an act of defiance against the government. In recent weeks, protests both within and outside the country have increased in both number and intensity. On Friday July 1, the Zimbabwe-South Africa border post, Beitbridge, was shut down and a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority warehouse set on fire, after citizens took to the streets to protest a government ban on the importation of basic goods. On Monday July 4, public transportation drivers in Harare clashed violently with police during riots over police harassment and extortion on the roads, while in London, UK activists besieged Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa. The following day, teachers, doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe began nationwide strikes over the government’s failure to pay their salaries on time. President Robert Mugabe’s order for Zimbabweans to “go about their normal business” on Wednesday went unheeded. Rather, the national stay-away day, galvanized by the social media movement #ThisFlag (to contest ownership of national symbols by the ruling party), marked one of the biggest and most peaceful stay-away actions since 2007. In South Africa, a wing of demonstrators from the #tajamuka movement, called for Zimbabwean residents there to protest outside the Zimbabwean consulate. The Zimbabwean government responded by shutting down the social media networks, particularly Whatsapp, in an effort to thwart the stay-away. The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) further warned members of the public against sharing information or images pertaining to the stay-away, citing such materials as threatening, subversive and offensive, and stating that anyone generating or sharing such materials would be arrested. Hackers from the group Anonymous Africa retaliated by shutting down government websites and the state controlled broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). In the aftermath of the stay-away, leaders of the #tajamuka movement are calling on citizens to march on the State House this coming Saturday and demand Mugabe’s resignation. While stay-aways have been held several times since 2000, this one is markedly different on account of its non-partisanship, and its use of social media as a mechanism through which to foment and coordinate dissent: Citizens, through direct public mobilization, have deliberately articulated the need for an alternative social order; they have done so without a formal opposition political party to galvanize them; they have done so using the technological avenues available to them. Zimbabwean Twitter feeds, Whatsapp threads and Facebook walls have become spaces of electronic civil disobedience. This digital activism is not restricted to the online environment. It has manifested in the form of collective public action. The use of social media platforms allows for the co-construction of a new type of social movement and the possibility for alternative forms of social, political and economic organization. Concrete demands have been made. Calls have gone out for the government to remove roadblocks that police officers use to demand bribes, pay civil servants on time (by the end of last week, the government had paid some of the salary arrears), take action against corrupt ministers, remove import controls (which have since been somewhat relaxed), and rescind plans to introduce “bond notes” as a means of easing the liquidity crisis in the country. Mugabe’s government is facing serious popular resistance. Could this resistance be the basis of a national movement with real political potential? Yes, absolutely. Zimbabwe is in a new phase of politics. The public demonstrations – both organic in the form of riots and protests and organized in the form of the strike and national stay-away – point to an increasingly active and performative citizenry. Through the interface of global digital platforms and local activism, Zimbabweans are reconfiguring visibility and voice, understanding them locally, nationally and transnationally, and thereby illuminating new possibilities for alternative subjectivities and social formations. But, there are concerns. As things stand, three separate resistance blocs are most visible; #ThisFlag, #tajamuka and Acie Lumumba’s fledgling political party, Viva Zimbabwe. A key challenge moving forward is to foster a continued coalescence of ideas, visions and plans beyond anti-Mugabe rhetoric and politics. The recent and ongoing actions in Zimbabwe point to very real forces at work, with the potential to transmute political and social arrangements within the country. Looking ahead, Zimbabweans will need to harness those actions, ideals and agendas cohesively so as not to lose momentum or face the risk of falling into obscurity – the unfortunate and all too common destination of many such movements.

A few days ago the BBC reported on Zimbabwe’s impending elections, amidst concerns of renewed violence and human rights abuses in the country. However, what is often lost in the sensationalization of political violence, by this and other news articles is the revolutionary impact that non-violent actions can have in transforming a national political landscape. Performative democracy provides a perspective through which to understand the importance of a parallel nature of collective shifts in consciousness of a country’s citizenry as a catalyst for political change. Take the Zimbabwean women’s organization, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, also known by its acronym WOZA. WOZA operates within what is considered the realm of the forbidden, engaging in organized protest and bringing to light previously suppressed narratives. The group’s members inhabit this realm comfortably -- or rather uncomfortably as many WOZA members face arrest on a daily basis for their peaceful actions to promote justice and fairness in the country.

The organization’s name means “come forward” in Ndebele. What better phrase to call to action the masses of Zimbabweans who have long been disillusioned by a violently repressive state? Below is an excerpt from an article by the Zimbabwe Civic Action Support Group. The writer aptly captures the power of the “speech act” with which WOZA calls its members to action, and is reminiscent of the war cries of Zimbabweans’ ancestors preparing for battle.

It could be just another ordinary week day in Bulawayo … But to the experienced eye, there is something afoot! As long as I live I will never forget those familiar words that will, on the stroke of the hour, peel out across the noise of the traffic. “Hey Ta” which calls the thronging women to attention followed by “Woza moya”, which means “Come Holy Spirit”. The reply from the multitudes is “Woza”!! The word reaches a crescendo and goes up in a mighty roar. “Umkhonto wo thando” again a mighty roar from the rapidly swelling masses. This means a love spear and the retort is “Zhii” a mighty cry which sends shivers down the spines of all who know just how strong is the bond and might of these women who have dared to make such a difference to the lives of so many, who have been down trodden for so long. “Woza” choruses the response and yet another WOZA march begins in the City of Bulawayo, founding home of the many thousands of WOZA and MOZA men and women. Suddenly as if from thin air, a crowd amasses, banners are unfurled from beneath long skirts, posters and flyers emerge from shopping bags and the Women of Zimbabwe arise once more, as they have done countless times since 2002.

WOZA has conducted hundreds of projects since 2003 and has run a series of campaigns aimed at raising awareness about human rights abuses and violations within Zimbabwe, all utilizing the simple notion that the power of love can conquer the love of power. Despite continued ill-treatment at the hand of the state, WOZA continues to struggle, non-violently for positive change in Zimbabwe. The organization’s commitment to that simple but effective notion of love conquering hate illustrates the power of “speech acts” and performative democracy, particularly in light of the much anticipated violence-fraught upcoming elections. Basic words and concepts serve to highlight what should also be basic -- the right to fundamental rights, currently being infringed upon by the state. Instead of living under a shroud of fear, WOZA members have chosen to publicly equip themselves and each other with the armor of rhetoric, the armor of love. Such a simple approach to the reprehensible, hate-filled actions taken by the state to repress the Zimbabwean people does more to highlight the need for change from this regime than anything else could. * Jacquelin Kataneksza is an international affairs practitioner.