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In its unyielding commitment to dismantling structural violence in Zimbabwe’s higher education spaces, the Female Students Network Trust (FSNT) proposed the Smart Girls Against SGBV #SheMatters #SmartGirls project to Urgent Action Fund-Africa, aiming to confront systemic barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in religious-based tertiary institutions.

With three deeply rooted institutions—Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU), Catholic University of Zimbabwe, and Mutare Teachers College—as engagement hubs, the initiative targets restrictive religious doctrines and silence that often shield sexual violence, reproductive injustice, and bodily autonomy violations from scrutiny and redress.

Project Objectives:

  • Spark SRHR dialogue between authorities and 60 female students across the three institutions.
  • Train Smart Champions of SRHR, empowering students to become peer advocates and feminist movement-builders.
  • Influence institutional policies and practices, fostering alignment with national, regional, and international human rights frameworks.

Key Interventions:

  • Institutional advocacy dialogues to challenge harmful religious doctrines that restrict SRHR access.
  • Feminist bootcamps and capacity building using FSNT’s SRHR manual.
  • Social media activations, blog storytelling, and an SRHR festival—amplifying youth voices, connecting art to activism.
  • Development of policy briefs backed by survivor testimonies and legal frameworks to lobby for reform.

At the heart of this campaign lies a radical reimagining of power in faith-based educational spaces. FSNT recognizes that the fight for SRHR is not just medical—it is political, cultural, and deeply personal. Through transformative dialogue, storytelling, and resistance, female students will confront the colonial vestiges of outdated ordinances, reclaim their agency, and galvanize collective feminist advocacy from within.

With support from Urgent Action Fund-Africa and solidarity from allies like SAYWHAT, university student affairs departments, and other feminist organizations, Smart Girls Against SGBV becomes more than a project—it becomes a movement.