“It was because of the TFT programme that I came to realise that I have dream, empowering female students of Zimbabwe.”
I It was during the TFT journey that I began to discover myself and realised the potentials within me as an individual and my fellow female tertiary students in Zimbabwe. The tools and skills that I learnt from TFT ignited my aspirations to come up with an initiative which is then, The Female Students Network. I have gained a lot of knowledge and changed my mind-set to see things differently in community and country as a whole.
Female Students Network (FSN) is a membership based organisation that works with female students in Zimbabwe’s tertiary institutions. Within period of one year, FSN has managed to recruit and mobilise over thirty thousand female students who directly subscribe to the Network every year through various programmes and activities which FSN do.
The organisation seeks to empower female students to demand their space for participation and engagement in democratic processes and it creates space for them to speak out on issues of violence and advocate for women’s rights.
The Network is a platform for interaction and sharing of experiences by female students on the challenges they face in their day to day lives. FSN is currently working with female students in eight provinces of Zimbabwe namely Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands, Bulawayo and Harare.
The Network has thematic areas: a) Capacity building workshops, b) Debates/discussions on topical issues, c) Research and documentation, d) Awareness campaigns; e) Lobbying and Advocacy. These are the strategies that the Network uses in empowering female students. FSN has adapted Paulo Freire’s methodology in all of its programmes and these have yielded results with testimonies from female students.
Evernice Munando, Director Female Students Network
Zimbabwe, TfT graduate 2013
