adminTanaka Mahanya
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development yesterday held a policy dialogue with the European Union to tackle issues which affect women empowerment and development.
EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann, said they had launched ‘Team Europe” initiative to support women empowerment programmes.
“We have launched this initiative which amounts to €209 million, funded by the European Union until 2027.
“This is because this initiative has a very fertile ground, in support of the Government to drive forward gender equality and women empowerment in the country.
“Women should enjoy their rights, representation in society and access to capacity building.
“Gender equality is mainstream, so we want to look at the results of the initiative so that we assess how effective it is.
‘‘We will make sure that all 10 provinces benefit from this initiative,” he said.
Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said she is grateful to have “Team Europe” which has come together to mobilise European states to work with the Ministry on issues of gender-based violence and women empowerment.
“We are going to look at how effective the initiative is by assessing the results, so that everyone benefits from the Team Europe initiative.
‘‘We often hold these meetings and tick boxes, but in this case, we have agreed that there has to be action so that women benefit.
“Gender issues are about bringing men and women together,” she said.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter