Protesting oppression
I recently read, and was move by, stories about Magodonga Mahlangu, Jennifer Williams and the women of Women of Zimbabwe Arise. This movement of as many as 75,000 women engages in non-violent protests on 
social justice issues, including food, education and health care. These women catalog their struggle on their website at http://wozazimbabwe.org/. As a result of their campaigns, the organization received the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award on November 24 at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House form President Obama.
These women seek no political power. Their concerns are issues of education, justice, food, and gender violence, among others. Yet they are met with beatings, arrests, and prosecution.
Unfortunately, Women of Zimbabwe Arise is but one group in Africa fighting for social justice. There are many other. Sadly, all too often these groups are met with violence and intimidation. As people interested in Africa and African issues, we must all do what we can to arrest this ugly reality. African leaders, for their part, must recognize that such groups have important concerns that deserve to be heard and responded to appropriately.