Online Reporter
Brenda P Shumba/ Patience Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporters
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) says the bulk of the over 4 000 complaints it has so far received are of sexual harassment.
The Commission which is celebrating 10 years of its formation is holding its annual Provincial Gender Forums to address various gender issue.
Last week, the commission held its Matabeleland North Provincial Gender Forum in Lupane District.
The Commission’s vice-chairperson, Commissioner Obert Matshalaga raised concern over the increasing number of sexual related cases it was receiving across the country.
“We have received during the past 10 years, about 4 000 gender related cases which include land ownership, property dispute, discrimination and harassment at workplaces, chieftainship conflicts and child marriages. Among these 4 000 complaints, sexual harassment tops the list,” he said.
Commissioner Matshalaga said ZGC contributed to the Labour Amendment Act which now criminalises sexual harassment at the workplace and was developing a strategy and training manual to assist workers.
He said over the years the Commission has devolved to various provinces with work underway to have representation in all the country’s provinces.
“We have also made significant progress as we now have offices in Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo and Mashonaland West unlike in the past when we only had offices in Harare,” said Commissioner Matshalaga.
He said the amendment of the Marriage Act of 2022 was another milestone that the Commission had achieved.
“The amendment of the Marriage Act of 2022 raised the legal age of marriage to 18 years thus addressing the problem of child marriages,” said Commissioner Matshalaga.
He added that the Commission also influenced the amendment of the Data Protection Act which strengthens the protection of women and children from online violence.
“We also contributed to the amendment Act of 2020 to stop discrimination of girls who fall pregnant while at school,” he said
Commissioner Matshalaga said one of the notable landmarks for the Commission was the National Inquiry on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Young Girls and Child Marriages in 2022.
“As Zimbabwe transitions from National Development Strategy 1 to NDS2 there is a need to embed gender equality at the heart of the national development agenda,” said Commissioner Matshalaga.
He said despite notable progress women still face systemic barriers, including inaccessible justice systems, under-representation in leadership roles, and economic exclusion.
“The burden of energy poverty falls heaviest on women, trapping them in cycles of unpaid care work and poor health,” said Commissioner Matshalaga.
He emphasised the need for collective action to address these challenges, leveraging collective strength and wisdom to promote gender equality.
The National Gender Forum is scheduled to take place on August 26 in Harare, where stakeholders will further engage on mainstreaming gender equality in national policy and programming as the country shifts into the next phase of its development.
