Sitabile Dewa

Sitabile Dewa
Sitabile Dewa
Born	Sitabile Dewa
Nationality	Zimbabwean
Organization	Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE)
Known for	Founding the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence

Sitabile Dewa is the Executive Director and Founder of Women's Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE).

She is a women’s rights and peace-building practitioner with over a decade of experience working with tertiary students and rural women leaders. She is passionate about women's empowerment, and the political and economic inclusion of women.

Sitabile has been influential in advocating for women to take leadership responsibilities from local to national level.

Dewa is also one of the Founders and former Deputy Director of Heal Zimbabwe Trust (2010-2018) where among many projects she spearheaded the creation of women's safe spaces for reconciliation, women-led peace clubs and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and also worked extensively with women survivors of torture.

She also advocated for the promotion of academic freedoms for tertiary female students when she was still part of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) secretariat between 2007- 2010.

Education

Her academic qualifications are as follows; Academic qualification- i) Master’s Degree in Human Rights, Peace and Development (Africa University) ii) Master’s Degree in International Relations (University of Zimbabwe) iii) Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology (University of Zimbabwe), iv) Postgraduate Diploma in Democracy, Governance and Public Policy (ISS, Netherlands).

She is an alumnus of the United States Department of States International Visitor Leadership Program. And also holds a certificate from the Ulster University in Ireland in Transitional Justice.

Sitabile is also a member of the International Republican Institute Generation Democracy Young Leaders programme.

She also has a certificate in gender mainstreaming from Gender links, and a certificate in negotiation and mediation from the Centre for Security Studies- ETG Zurich Switzerland in collaboration with Africa University.

Career

Dewa is also a founding member of #SheVotes, a platform for networking and amplifying young women’s voices in the fight for a just society in Zimbabwe.

She is also the Board Chairperson for Justice for Women Trust, an organisation that seeks to mobilise women and amplifies their voices to speak against injustices perpetrated against them.

Through WALPE, Sitabile aims to increase the number and quality of women holding political offices by enhancing their capacity through leadership training, mentorship programs, grooming and campaign strategizing.

Arrest For Subversion

In May 2019, Dewa and six other rights defenders were arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on their return from a peaceful resistance workshop in the Maldives.^[1]

As a result, she could not graduate from Africa University for her second Master’s Degree in Peace, Human Rights and Governance in June 2019.

Allegations were that the seven were taught the basics of counter-intelligence and acts of terrorism when they underwent training organised by a Serbian non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS).

After 15 months in and out of the court, the State finally withdrew the charges against Dewa and her colleagues and said it will proceed through summons.

Under Section 22 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, “subversion of a constitutional government” is a treason charge. It carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Challenging Ban On Sex Toys

Dewa said that she was content with her sex life when she was married, but after her divorce, she found her prospects for erotic pleasure rather bleak.^[2]

In March 2023, Dewa filed an application at the High Court seeking an order declaring the ban on the importation, possession and or use of sex toys unconstitutional.^[3]

She was challenging Section 47(1) b of the Customs and Excise Act, which criminalizes the importation of goods regarded as indecent.

Dewa was represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni Legal Practitioners and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Dewa filed the application after Gwanda State University (GSU) female lecturer Shirley Chapunza and Harare socialite Ayanda Muponda were arrested under the same law.

Chapunza was sentenced to six months imprisonment with the of paying a ZWL$60 000 fine to escape the jail term.

Muponda was sentenced to a two-year prison term, which was wholly suspended on condition she performs 640 hours of community service.