By A Correspondent – The Masvingo Women Rights Advocacy Group (MWRAG) has condemned what it describes as the harassment, arrest and persecution of a female vendor in Masvingo’s Central Business District (CBD), calling for urgent action to protect women eking out a living through informal trade.

The case, which has triggered widespread anger on social media, has once again exposed the vulnerability of women vendors during police crackdowns in the city.

MWRAG said 41-year-old widow Gladies Madhlame was arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers on Thursday, January 15, 2026, after being summoned to Masvingo Central Police Station to collect goods that had earlier been confiscated.

Madhlame, who travels from Chiredzi to sell vegetables in Masvingo and is often forced to sleep on pavements with her three-year-old child until her stock is finished, is now facing charges of indecent exposure under Section 77 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23].

According to MWRAG, the charge stems from a previous incident in which police officers allegedly assaulted her in public, leaving her undergarments exposed.

“This humiliation arose from the actions of the officers themselves, yet the victim has now been turned into the accused,” the organisation said.

MWRAG Rights Monitors reported that Madhlame was detained for several hours without charge on both Tuesday and Wednesday before her formal arrest on Thursday.

Condemning the manner in which the arrest was handled, the group said women vendors are routinely targeted during municipal and police operations.

“Women vendors are disproportionately targeted during these crackdowns, often subjected to harassment and violence that strips them of their livelihoods,” MWRAG said in a statement.

The advocacy group urged authorities to urgently address the situation of informal traders, particularly women.

“The police must respect the rights of all vendors,” the group said. “Systemic reforms are urgently needed to protect women from intimidation and abuse, and to ensure their economic contributions are recognised and safeguarded.”

MWRAG warned that Madhlame’s case is not isolated, noting a growing pattern of brutality against women vendors in Masvingo’s CBD.
The organisation cited another incident recorded on November 19, 2025, involving the violent arrest of a female vendor outside Trinity Pharmacy, opposite Pick and Pay on Hughes Street.

“Many vendors, predominantly women, were forcibly displaced from their trading spots across Masvingo, often without warning,” MWRAG reported. “Many lost their stalls and goods, a devastating blow to families who rely on vending as their primary source of income.”