Chronicle Editor
Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Online Reporter
WATHINTA ABAFAZI WATHINTA IMBOKODO!!!
THIS is the motto every woman should be living by in this beautiful month of celebrating the females in our lives.
Women’s Day commemorated on 8 March every year worldwide, is a recognition of the fragility of the fairer sex and their immeasurable strength that makes them strong like rocks.
Women are the backbones of every society, homes, community or workplace.
Yesterday the country celebrated women under the theme Digital; Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.
After doing a number of stories with inspirational women all over the country, the Chronicle realised the proverb “charity begins at home” had been ignored as we had not honour the strong and resilient women in our newsroom who are working very hard to contribute to the success of the paper which is read by many every day.
We had a chat with some of the women in the newsroom who gave us their view on this year’s theme and how they think it can be used by the media to empower other women.
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu a senior health reporter said she is happy the media is giving women a voice to deliberate on issues that could have easily been forgotten or ignored in the past and this gives everyone the vigor to continue fighting for what they believe is right.
She said women’s month is important for her as she gets to celebrate all the struggles life has thrown her way.
“It’s a day l get to be celebrated for the struggles l face with a smile every day, a million fears l tackle without anyone noticing, and the thorny paths6 we pass through as women as we try to navigate this world. The day is a constant reminder that despite everything l have been through, l have managed to become the best version of myself and won battles known to others ,” she said.
For Sukulwenkosi Dube Matutu the digital world has given women a platform to empower themselves economically, express themselves and address the social issues threatening their lives.
“It is now a platform for women to share knowledge and be educated. Ladies now have access to information thanks to the digital age and being knowledgeable will go a long way in empowering them. The international day is important because women get to be honoured and celebrated because of the different roles they are playing in developing the nation,” said Dube Matutu.
Sikhulekelani Moyo said she is happy with Government’s efforts to empower women.
She encouraged women to complement the Government by grabbing all the digital opportunities which come their way so they can showcase their capabilities and be helped in achieving their full potential.
“As we celebrate this women’s month let us try by all means to grab technology and utilise it for our benefits. Let us try by all means to avoid situations where we have to ask our male counterparts to do certain things for us because we are failing to do it ourselves,” she said.
Lizzy Nekhoma said technology has been a major driver for gender equality taking into consideration that women now find it easy to access education even online with just a click on their cell phones.
She said despite the progress everyone is seeing, more still needs to be done.
“Every month should be a women’s month and everyone should be reminded how important it is to empower women so we can move forward,” said Nekhoma
Canditar Chapanduka said the digital world is an important aspect of the world that has elevated a lot of women.
‘It has proved to be an important agent of socialization and shaping gender roles. Women’s Day means celebration of women’s rights, bringing gender equality to the fore, asking the whole country how far we have gone in terms of empowering each other,” she said.
Fortunate Nkomo said she is happy with how far women have advanced over the years.
She urged women to continue fighting for their place in the digital space and ensure they use it to empower themselves and go further.
Rejoyce Sibanda said digital media is not only helping women to have a voice on issues that affect them, but is also acting as a platform where women are able to create employment and help empower other women instead of sitting at home waiting to be given handouts.
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo said significant strides have been made to address gender inequality in the country over the years, which she said is very commendable.
She said the media has played a huge role in giving women voices. Statistics show that women and girls continue to lag behind in taking up STEM careers and part of the media’s role is to highlight opportunities and amplify the pacesetters in those fields and let the girl from deep in the rural areas know that they can.
She however said the need for safe spaces was high as a lot of women are now spending their time online.
“With the advent of technology and the emergence of various social networking sites, it has become more urgent to create safe spaces for women online. There is also a need to raise awareness of the need for women to partake in digital empowering programmes. The media has covered so much ground in that regard but more needs to be done to ensure women and girls take up space in the digital world and amplify their voices,” she said.
Yoliswa said women’s month was a chance to reflect and take stock of how far she has come in life and what she has accomplished.
Siphakeme Mnindwa said if women want to reach gender equality they should start familiarising themselves with the digital world so they can be equipped with the new world and create opportunities for themselves. “Because of digital world a lot of women no longer have to suffer as they are now able to create jobs for themselves online and juggle between being a woman and a business person at the same time,” she said.
Maita Zizhou said women the digital world to her means women now have freedom to expression, ability to stand by themselves and a chance to be a true Imbokodo.
Online Reporter