WomenSpace

About Us

Womenspace is a women-rights focused organisation which provides dialogue platforms for women to engage with issues affecting them, particularly gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), with the objective of devising advocacy strategies to improve their lives. We have a strong grassroots-community presence in selected provinces and peri-urban areas (Chivhu, Goromonzi, Gutu, Gwanda, Harare, Lupane, Masvingo, Mhondoro and Mt Darwin). WST provides mentorship to survivors of GBV and SGBV, while empowering them with life skills and a space for experience-sharing and learning. We identify and document advocacy issues through women sharing their experiences with HIV and AIDS, Disability, marginalization and ostracism for various reasons in communities.

Experience-sharing of personal narratives is one of WST’s proven development and advocacy tools for community advancement. Women’s experiences with HIV and AIDS, either as carers, the infected or affected have contributed immensely in addressing stigma, while those of incarcerated women (women in prison) have contributed to a shift in attitude by both society and the responsible authorities. The stories by WomenSpace of women caring for people living with disability have also contributed to bringing to the fore challenges in the disability sector.

Key Focus Areas

• Gender Based Violence Response
• Addressing women & AGYW SRHR
• Mentorship (Leadership, Life skills & Livelihoods)
• Amplifying women’s voices (Documentation)

Vision

A society where women’s voices and works are respected

Mission

To promote women’s effective participation in development socially, culturally, economically and politically through mentorship, documentation and promotion of their works

Objectives

• Strengthen the evidence-base around needs, methods and effective approaches to women empowerment
• Facilitate documentation and sharing of women’s experiences to inform advocacy strategies and interventions
• Improve women’s articulation, writing and leadership skills
• Increase women participation in public spaces
• Strengthen collaborative interventions for women empowerment
• Promote women social, economic and political rights through active engagement of communities

Research and Documentation

Themed Action research, using the first or third person narrative Journalistic and academic writing

• Documentation of milestones in women’s advancement to provide a trail of progress at community, national and regional level to inform collective advocacy.
• Telling ‘I’ stories
• Journalistic storytelling
• Report writing
• Publishing

Mentorship

• Training in Leadership and Advocacy
• Self expression - Writing and editing
• Documentation – Reports, Journals
• Life skills: training women in livelihoods skills and project management such as horticulture, food processing, artwork (basketry, beading etc)
• Rights-based approaches to Development

Lobby and advocacy

Women and Girls SRHR issues, HIV and AIDS, Abortion, Child Marriages, Gender-Based Violence, Girls’ access to education, Re-socialization of both girls and boys to promote gender equality.

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