Africa Barometer Second Edition 2024 launched

Trust Freddy

Herald Correspondent

The incoming SADC chairperson for Women Affairs, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Monica Mutsvangwa has officially launched the second edition of the Women’s Political Participation Africa Barometer 2024 today.

The comprehensive report provides critical insights into the state of women’s political representation and participation across the African continent, shining a spotlight on the progress made and the challenges that remain.

In a speech read on her behalf by the Ministry’s director for Gender Policy Planning and Programme Management, Mrs Lillian Matsika, Minister Mutsvangwa emphasised that more work still needs to be done to address the gender gap in political participation.

 

“Despite some progress in recent years, women remain significantly underrepresented in political institutions and leadership roles throughout the region and the findings make clear that much work remains to be done to achieve gender parity in African politics,” she said.

“With only six years remaining before 2030 many African countries are most unlikely to reach the SDG targets with an average of 26 percent women in the lower houses, and 21 percent in the upper houses of parliament.

“Africa also has the highest and lowest WPP in lower houses, ranging 61 percent MPS in Rwanda to Nigeria, where women comprise 4 percent of the parliamentarians. In Zimbabwe, in some instances, there has been regression and as a country/we are yet to achieve the 50-50 target provided in the Constitution with our upper house standing at 43,7 percent and lower/house/31,4 percent women’s representation.”

The Africa Barometer 2024 also explores the deep-rooted structural causes of women’s exclusion from political decision-making, including patriarchy, social, cultural, and religious influences that perpetuate gender inequality.

The report highlights the need for sustained efforts to address these barriers and create an enabling environment for women’s political participation.

The launch was attended by esteemed stakeholders from the SADC region, including Emma Kaliya, Chair of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance, Emily Brown, Chair of the Gender Links Board, and Emma Borgnas from the Embassy of Sweden in Zimbabwe.