adminThe sub-themes are “support women to fight poverty” and “end violence” and “invest in women for sustainable national growth”.
This year’s theme was aptly named as in Zimbabwe, and indeed in most developing nations, women, particularly those in rural areas, have borne the brunt of poverty, hunger, disease and on top of that violence perpetrated on them by their male counterparts.
Rural women in Zimbabwe have a lot to carry on their shoulders, moreso in times of economic challenges as they have to look for food for their children as well as raise money to send them to school.
With the HIV/Aids pandemic, many women in rural areas are looking after sick relatives or children left behind by their sons, daughters or relatives who succumbed to the disease.
It is unbelievable that in some societies in our country, women are still a down-trodden lot who are only useful as sex objects and as child bearers. This starts from the girl child who in most rural societies is not given an opportunity to go to school.
Yet women are the backbone of any nation, without which it cannot stand, let alone move forward. That is why it is said that if one educates a woman, they would have educated the whole nation.
As we commemorate International Women’s Day, there is a need for our society to change its mindset and value women as equal partners in the development of any nation.
Yes, great strides have been made in uplifting Zimbabwean women into decision-making positions in politics, business, sports, the media and the public service. Women have also climbed the ladder in the education and health sectors in Zimbabwe.
But there is still room for improvement and the nation should keep up this momentum if it is to meet all the 28 targets set in the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development.
This means there must be a complete paradigm shift in terms of how women are viewed and treated in the country. This means women must not continue to be viewed as sex objects and there must be zero tolerance to domestic violence.
On our part as Zimbabwe Newspapers, we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to promote gender equality, women empowerment and giving voices to more women throughout all sectors of our society. A policy to that effect is being crafted and would soon be implemented.
President Mugabe, officially opening the annual chiefs conference in Bulawayo on Thursday, rightly called for the recognition of the role played by women in society and urged men to give them a chance.
That call for gender equality and the advancement of women must be embraced by everyone and must permeate every sector of our society.
Online Reporter