First Lady leads the charge in promoting women’s rights and empowerment

Tendai Rupapa-Senior Reporter

ON International Women’s Day, Zimbabwe celebrates the invaluable contributions of organisations and women from diverse backgrounds who play a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s social, economic and cultural landscape. From urban centres to rural communities, women are at the forefront of progress, driving initiatives in education, healthcare and entrepreneurship.

Their resilience and determination have led to significant advancements, such as improving access to education for girls and advocating gender equality.

Be they farmers working the land, business owners creating jobs or activists fighting for social justice, women in Zimbabwe demonstrate remarkable strength and versatility, inspiring future generations to pursue their dreams.

The impact of women in Zimbabwe extends beyond their immediate communities, influencing national policies and fostering a culture of empowerment.

Women leaders, such as politicians, educators and healthcare professionals, advocate issues that affect families and communities, ensuring that women’s voices are heard in decision-making processes.

Their efforts have been instrumental in addressing challenges such as poverty, health disparities and gender-based violence, ultimately contributing to a more equitable society. As Zimbabwe commemorated Women’s Day, it acknowledged that empowering women is not just a matter of justice; it is essential for the country’s sustainable development and prosperity, benefitting everyone in society.

There are also organisations working to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment by advocating the rights of women and girls, working towards ending violence against women, supporting women’s economic empowerment and supporting women living with HIV/AIDS and disabilities.

Agric4She patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa harvests maize with other women during a field day at a farm of one of her programme’s beneficiaries.

There are also individuals whose stories cannot be ignored on such a day since they have outdone themselves in empowering women and the girl child.

And as Zimbabwe joined the global community in celebrating International Women’s Day, recognising the extraordinary contributions of women to society, the country takes pride in the transformative leadership of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, whose unwavering dedication to empowering women and improving their economic status has garnered both national and international acclaim. March is Women’s Month, and it is celebrated internationally through educating people on how women help shape the nation.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was: “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”

The theme called for action that can unlock equal rights and opportunities for all, where no woman is left behind.

Since March is a month to celebrate the achievements by women in various fields, it is critical to recognise Amai Mnangagwa among the country’s living heroines.

She is not leaving any woman behind in her quest to empower them.

Through her trailblazing Angel of Hope Foundation, Dr Mnangagwa has touched many spheres that ensure women enjoy improved access to education, health, shelter and sustenance.

She can be best described as an Angel of Hope, who is touching lives, or a star that shines brighter where there is darkness.

Her interventions have largely enhanced women’s dignity and arrested social ills while also creating thousands of jobs across various sectors of the economy.

The First Lady’s humility, determination and goal-centred spirit have seen her move mountains and achieve a lot within a short space of time since almost everything she touches turns into gold.

International Women’s Day also educates and raise awareness about women’s equality.

The day belongs to all who care about women’s equality, and Amai Mnangagwa does.

She has opened windows of opportunities for women and girls worth celebrating.

She is not selective and embraces all her children, thus her programmes and projects are non-partisan.

The day also reminds people to promote gender equality.

Health and Childcare Ambassador First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa is welcomed by women beneficiaries of her free medical outreaches for cervical and breast cancer screening and treatment from her top-notch mobile clinic and hospital.

While women deserve recognition every day, International Women’s Day reminds people to raise awareness on gender equality and promote empowerment.

In November 2023, Dr Mnangagwa launched the #We are Equal Campaign#, a continental initiative by the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) meant to address gender inequality in Africa in the following sectors: health, education and the economy.

In the spirit of the campaign, she has been using her fully equipped mobile bus and mobile clinic to traverse the length and breadth of the country, including hard-to-reach areas, ensuring that women are screened for breast and cervical cancers. These are the leading cancers in women across the globe.

Dr Mnangagwa regularly engages the communities, rallying them to be screened so that they can be put on treatment early to save lives.

When detected early and treated on time, cancer is curable.

The First Lady is constructing a state-of-the-art medical facility in the capital and Chiweshe for the benefit of communities and women.

She regularly mobilises medical equipment and other hospital consumables so that ordinary citizens are well-catered for in terms of health provision.

Pregnant rural women, who had to contend with home deliveries or having to give birth on the way to hospitals, have also been included in the First Lady’s interventions.

Alongside her partners, the First Lady facilitated the construction of waiting mothers’ shelters, where expectant mothers stay while awaiting their time to deliver under the care of experts, removing risk to the mother and her baby in the face of complications.

Menstrual hygiene has also improved vastly owing to the assistance provided by First Lady Dr Mnangagwa.

On the other hand, the First Lady has sourced sewing machines, materials and technical expertise for rural women to sew reusable sanitary pads for distribution to the needy, including women and girls from vulnerable communities.

Before her intervention, some girls would miss school or resort to harmful alternatives, which exposed them to rashes and ultimately compromised their health.

On the education front, Dr Mnangagwa forged a partnership with the Zimbabwe Open University, under which women of various age groups are attaining life-transforming education free of charge.

There are many courses offered that have resulted in some beneficiaries starting their own business ventures, thus contributing to economic security.

To motivate women and girls, the First Lady graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at Midlands State University (MSU).

Economically, this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations come at a time when the First Lady has launched countless projects for women, including beekeeping, cuniculture, poultry, piggery and livestock production.

With the help of her foundation’s partners, Dr Mnangagwa has ensured women are introduced to detergent-making and petroleum jelly-making, where beneficiaries have been provided with start-up kits and financial literacy.

She has also been instrumental in taking women off the world’s oldest profession of prostitution to ensure they earn a dignified living through the use of their hands.

As Agric4She patron, the First Lady sources inputs for women and girls and joins them in the cultivation of various crops for self-sustenance while they can sell the surplus and finance the education of their children.

International Women’s Day 2025 also came at a time when the First Lady is promoting the consumption of traditional dishes, which have high nutritional value and medicinal properties.

Motherly support . . . First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa comforts Gogo Eunice Mazanhi, who shed tears of joy in appreciation of the food hamper she gave her. Gogo Mazanhi is taking care of her orphaned grandchildren and she said the food hamper came at the right time. — Pictures: John Manzongo.

She has also been running various cookout competitions where, apart from giving out prizes, communities learn about the various dishes that can be prepared to improve the uptake of traditional food.

Already, some beneficiaries of the cookout contests are running successful catering businesses and exporting to other nations across the globe.

Through her Angel of Hope Foundation, the First Lady has done a lot of work to restore confidence in most women as she leads from the front in efforts to address poverty, diseases, gender-based violence, inheritance disputes and health issues, among many others that mainly affect women and girls.

She also has a toll-free line, 575, which is directly under her office to assist victims of gender-based violence, who are mainly women.

Widows throughout the country also received a shot in the arm as the mother of the nation formed the First Lady’s Widows Association meant to empower them with various self-sustaining projects and requisite knowledge on inheritance matters.

This comes at a time when widows are facing several challenges, including being stripped of their possessions by greedy in-laws.

In a noteworthy act of benevolence, Dr Mnangagwa also donated goods to widows for them to kick-start small-scale retailing.

The elderly often endure loneliness and have no one to fend for them and attend to their daily needs.

Environmental patron and wildlife ambassador First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa leads the tree planting initiative where she teaches schoolchildren, women and men on the importance of preserving the environment.

Against this background, the First Lady always visits them across the country, especially in hard-to-reach areas, where she cleans their houses, sweeps their yards and do laundry for them.

With the help of women from the community, Amai Mnangagwa also cooks nutritious food for them.

Owing to her generosity, she also gifts them with groceries, toiletries and blankets.

As the nation celebrates Women’s Month, it is also essential to note that the First Lady has given women and girls a chance to smile after celebrating their successes in various fields.

With the First Lady’s fighting spirit and hands-on approach, Zimbabwe’s women are set for greater heights.

She is not giving the women of Zimbabwe a fish; instead, she is teaching them how to catch a fish.