NEW: Women’s representation in Parly bears fruit 

Online Reporter 

PARLIAMENT has passed several laws that have a positive impact on women’s political, economic and social welfare over the past decade.

Experts have attributed this to an increase in women representation in the National Assembly.

The country introduced Parliamentary quota seats in 2013.

According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), women representation in Parliament rose from 10,6 percent in 2008 to 17 percent in 2018.

This has seen the promulgation of laws that directly or indirectly impact women on a daily basis.

Some of the laws include the recently passed Marriages Amendment Act, which, among other things, criminalises child marriages by moving the legal age of marriage to 18 from 16 years.

Over the past few years, Zimbabwe has witnessed a spike in child marriages, with some individuals taking advantage of the gaps of the age of consent, which was stipulated in some sections of the Constitution as 16 years.

The Marriage Amendment Act also decriminalised HIV transmission by repealing Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which made it an offence to transmit HIV in certain circumstances.

The law, according to gender experts, mainly stigmatised women for the transmission of HIV because of their physical and biological anatomy.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, Dr Ruth Labode, said the percentage of women being criminalised was higher than that of men.

“We have realised that because women are the ones that go to clinics for check-ups and testing during pregnancy and after giving birth, HIV was quickly detected as opposed to men,” she said.

“In most cases, women would be criminalised for the transmission. So, as parliamentarians and civic organisations, we advocated for the clause to be removed and we are happy to report that it was removed.”

Legislators also passed Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.2), which has seen, among other issues, the establishment of Local Government quota for women, which is set to begin after 2023.

Other Bills that seek to advocate for women’s welfare include the Education Act, which advocates for young women to continue with their studies during pregnancy and soon after giving birth.

Parliament also passed the Data Protection Act, which also – among other interventions – seeks to protect women from being victims of revenge pornography and online violence.

Further, women parliamentarians have advocated for the free distribution of sanitary pads in the country’s rural primary and secondary schools.

Gokwe-Nembudziya senator Maybe Mbowa says the increase of women in Parliament has led to laws that advocate for women’s welfare.

“The introduction of the women’s quota has seen women being able to stand up with one voice and advocating for women’s political, economic and social welfare,” she said.  “This has been one of the benefits and advantages of the women’s quota.”

Her sentiments were echoed by Dr Labode, who said: “The increase of women in Parliament has seen women being able to increase their voices on women’s issues and advocate for their rights.”

MP Tatenda Mavetera, however, maintains that there is a need to increase the 50-50 gender policy to ensure women do not rely on quotas.

“There is a need for implementation of gender policy across the political sphere so that women are able to participate in politics,” she said.

“While quotas are still in place, there is a need for implementation of policies that create a level playing field.”