Inside Zimbabwe - a talk with the women's rights activist Karen Mukwasi

Once a prosperous nation, Zimbabwe's economy collapsed in the 2000s. Although there have been signs of recovery in recent years, poverty and unemployment remain widespread. Politically, the country has struggled with authoritarian rule, and while Robert Mugabe's departure in 2017 raised hopes, Zimbabwe remains a nation grappling with instability and uncertainty.
Karen Mukwasi documents cases of violence against women in Zimbabwe. She founded the PADA platform in 2018, which aims to encourage girls and young women to think innovatively and to actively participate in public discourse. In 2020, Karen Mukwasi came under the scrutiny of the state security services when she started to document reports from raped and violented women and didn't want to give the names of the vicitms. Since then, Ms Mukwasi has been repeatedly harassed, threatened and monitored. With the support of the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted (), Karen Mukwasi came to Hamburg in 2025.
Dr. Julia Grauvogel is Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs, where she is spokesperson of the Working Group "Interventions and Security". She is also a member of the Executive Council of the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA). Her research examines international sanctions, persistence and change of authoritarian rule and the legitimation of non-democratic regimes, particularly in Zimbabwe and Burundi.
Together with Karen Mukwasi and Julia Grauvogel, we will discuss the latest developments and current political situation in Zimbabwe, focusing on consequences for the population. We will examine the country's prospects more closely and discuss the potential role of Europe and Germany in its future.
Moderation: Charlotte Horn, journalist
The conversation will be held in English without translation.
Registration is required via the register red button ("Anmelden") on our homepage. If your registration is successful, we will send you a registration confirmation.
Sponsored by 'Landeszentrale für politische Bildung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg'.

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Rathauspassage Hamburg, Rathausmarkt 3, Hamburg, Germany

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