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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has expressed concern over the glaring gender disparities on the political landscape despite the existence of coherent national policies and laws.
Speaking during an ongoing four-day pilot Women Political Training and Mentorship programme dubbed Women Rise in Politics in Mutare on Tuesday, ZGC chief executive officer, Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa, said although the country has provided coherent national policies and laws that provide a bedrock to support equality between women and men in politics and leadership, more barriers still limit women from participating in politics.
She said chief among these barriers was the underplaying of the importance of women’s participation in politics by the media.
“In our work as the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, we have noted that despite the fact that women in Zimbabwe want to participate in politics at different levels, a number of persistent barriers continue to hinder their full and effective participation in politics and public life.
“The media, which is also part of the society which tries to play down the voices of women, hinders women from entering the political fray,” she said.
She said because of this, her organisation was working with journalist organisations like Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum through the Gender and Media Connect.
“We need to get the media to recognise that as part of their role to speak the truth to power, part of that truth is that the media also has a responsibility to also ensure that there is gender responsive coverage,” she said.
Mrs Muwanigwa said there was need for diversity in politics as women were equally good as men.
She said other barriers that limit women from participating include lack of confidence, poor access to information, lack of faith in political processes, lack of motivation, lack of resources for campaigning and violence which includes hate speech, cyber bullying, and physical and sexual violence.
She said while the policies and laws were promoting the involvement and participation of women in politics, there was need for Zimbabwe to review its harmful cultural practices that make women shun politics.
“It is very important that we review our culture, especially the harmful cultural practices. Because of those practices, women have lost their confidence and now believe that they cannot be considered in governance. Everyone should be able to participate and we should be able to help each other carry the burden of governance instead of just leaving it to the men,”she said.
Mrs Muwanigwa said the training was taking place against the backdrop of worrisome gender disparities in women’s political participation at every level.
Statistics from the 2018 harmonised elections reveal regressing and low women representation, with 48 percent in Senate (38 women against 42 male senators); 31.5 percent in the National Assembly (85 females against 185 males Members of National Assembly) and 13.3 percent in local governance (267 women against 1689 male councillors).
Zimbabwe is a signatory to various international frameworks on gender equality and equity which include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
At national level, the Constitution provides a supportive legal framework for women’s equal participation in political decision-making through Section 17 which speaks to gender balance, Section 56 on gender equality and non-discrimination, Section 67 on political rights and Section 80 on women’s rights to equal opportunities including in the political sphere.
The pilot trainings are being conducted across the country in Bulawayo, Mutare, Bindura and Kwekwe.
The Women Rise in Politics (WRiP) is a joint initiative between the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and UN Women and is anchored on promoting women’s leadership development in politics and decision-making spheres.
The programme has become one of the flagship initiatives for the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, hence its being accorded unreserved commitment.
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