Online Reporter
Sifelani Tsiko
The UN-Women Executive Board on Thursday visited the Umzingwane Safe Market in Esigodini and the Bulawayo Maker Space innovation hub that aim to boost empowerment of women and turbocharge production.
The board led by Ms Nicola Clase, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN and president of the UN Executive Board first toured Umzingwane Safe Market – at Habane Extension a facility that was constructed to address issues of gender-based violence in public spaces.
It is part of the UN Women flagship programme on safe cities and safe public spaces which was being implemented in partnership with Katswe Sisterhood and the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development under the European Union – funded Spotlight Initiative.
The new facility has six kitchens, a locker room, a verandah, a common eating place, a play centre and a storeroom to safeguard the vendors products and wares.
From Esigodini, the board met Bulawayo city council mayor and officials and toured the Bulawayo Marker Space innovation hub.
This facility was created to catalyse the development and efficiency of women-owned enterprises within the textile industry.
Ms Clase said it was important for such initiatives to be implemented because they place women at the centre of economic participation in Zimbabwe.
UN Women, the Ministry of Women Affairs, the International Labour Organisation, and the Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs partnered in this initiative designed to empower and transform women’s businesses and offer space for them to access specialized equipment, renewable energy and relevant skills in a convenient and affordable manner.
“I am so pleased to see such initiatives that place women at the centre of economic participation, ” Ms Clase said.
“It is important for Zimbabwe to design and implement initiatives that respond to the needs of women more effectively.”
UN Women has been working with various local NGOs and community based organisations under the Spotlight Initiative supported through a partnership between the European Union and the United Nations to end violence against women and girls and harmful practices.
Zimbabwe is among the 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean which have benefited from the four-year programme supported by the EU to the tune of US$30 million.
Mrs Samkeliso Nyambiri, chairperson of the Bulawayo Marker Space hailed UN Women for the support, saying the initiative has enhanced the competitiveness of women-owned enterprises.
“We are so grateful for the support we got from UN Women. It has helped us to increase our production and survive in a difficult marketing environment,” she said.
“Our production levels have improved tremendously as well as the quality of our products. More than 400 women are benefiting from this initiative.”
Bulawayo city mayor David Coltart said it was important to cement relations with UN Women to build a better future for women and girls in the country.
He said closer cooperation with UN agencies could also help boost economic development of the city.
Mrs Winnie Ncube, vice chair of UMzingwane Safe Market expressed gratitude to UN Women saying their new facility had created a better and safer operating environment for them.
“We are so happy about this initiative and we are so excited about this new beautiful and decent facility,” she said.
“We are safe here. We are safe from dust and rain. It’s decent for us and we feel so empowered as women.”
The UN-Women Executive Board is on a week long visit in Zimbabwe to assess and understand the impact of UN-Women’s operations in advancing national development priorities and addressing women’s challenges in the region.
The board has also engaged with various stakeholders to get first-hand information of their operations and how they can take their work further.
