Celebrated Zimbabwean Female Rangers Denied Visas
Two Zimbabwean female rangers who were due to attend an awards ceremony in Britain for their anti-poaching efforts had their visiting visa applications rejected.
Nyaradzo Hoto and Petronella Chigumbura are members of an all-female, anti-poaching unit known as Akashinga, which means “brave ones” in their native Shona.
Trained as armed soldiers, the unit patrols and protects an area in the Lower Zambezi Valley, which is home to some 11 000 elephants.
Hoto and Chigumbura were to accept the Founder’s Award on behalf of Akashinga on 3 November at an award ceremony hosted by the Zimbabwe International Women Awards (Ziwa) in Birmingham.
However, the British Home Office rejected the duo’s visa applications due to their lack of financial assets and property.
They also suggested that the women were not genuine visitors and could try to remain in Britain.
A disappointed Hoto said: “I was looking forward to interacting with different women from different countries, to learn leadership skills. It would’ve been a beautiful event, and a great thing for our project.”
Image: The Akashinga anti-poaching unit. [online image] (2018) sourced on 14 November 2018 from: https://girltalkhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-28-at-2.46.26-PM-e1514505189773.png
