Sundaymail Editor
Women & Leadership
Maggie Mzumara
AS the Government, all its levers of power, key actors and departments engage, gear up and go full steam ahead on the National Development Strategy 1 in pursuit of Vision 2030, which speaks to the attainment of an empowered and prosperous Upper Middle-Income society by 2030 as enunciated by His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, it would be instructive to interrogate what gender considerations are couched in this national thrust.
This will help determine what women can expect as the gender mainstreaming dividend deriving from it all.
Based on the collective aspirations and determination of the people of Zimbabwe to achieve an empowered and prosperous Upper Middle-Income society by 2030 as driven by the Second Republic, Government launched Vision 2030 to chart a new, transformative and inclusive development agenda. It is envisaged that the pursuit of this vision will deliver broad-based transformation, new wealth creation and expand horizons of economic opportunities for all Zimbabweans, with “no one left behind”.
No one and no place left behind
Because Government acknowledges that gender equality and women empowerment remain unfinished business under the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) which sought to guide the reform process during the period 2018 to 2020, the NDS1 will prioritise gender issues in line with the theme of ‘leaving no-one and no place behind’ ( refer to page 188, Section/ Point 745).
Although Government has made some progress with regards to gender mainstreaming, the current context is notably marked by, among other things, limited gender mainstreaming. Women still face hurdles in terms of opportunities to ascend to commanding heights in the national economy, including:
- Limited access to finance;
- Limited access to land and freehold property;
iii. Limited opportunities to influence policy; and
- Legal, cultural and patriarchal barriers.
Within NDS1 it is Government’s plan that priority be accorded to gender mainstreaming, through visible initiatives that, in particular confer equal opportunities to women. Government’s prioritisation of gender equality in order to enhance women’s participation in the development process, is informed by provisions of the Constitution, and underpinned by the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5, which seeks to “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls”.
According to NDS1, during the period under focus, integration of gender mainstreaming across all sectors will be strengthened, cognisant that gender equality is fundamental to achieving equitable, sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development. This builds on Government’s commitment under the Constitution, the Gender Responsive Budgeting Strategy, the National Gender Policy and Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Framework.
What to look forward to
Key strategies and deliverables will relate to: –
◆ Further mainstreaming of gender sensitive policies and legislation;
◆ Integrating gender issues into national and sectoral economic policies, national budget policies;
◆ Programming and budgeting, which involves identification of gender issues, interventions, budget costings, and setting of performance benchmarks;
◆ Prioritisation of resource allocation, disbursement and implementation of national and sectoral gender plans and programmes through;
◆ Implementation of gender sensitive programmes and projects, targeting women; and
◆ Monitoring and evaluation, which involves tracking performance, and feedback for policy review.
Key players
During the strategy period, the main actors in Gender Responsive Budgeting remain, among others, Government MDAs, Parliament, Development Partners and Civil Society. Lessons learnt from the national budgetary process to mainstream gender, partnering Government in gender responsive budget capacity building programmes are expected to inform follow up mechanisms.
Expected outcomes
The outcomes of Women and Gender Mainstreaming (including also youth) are as follows:
◆ Growing Women participation in the economy across all sectors;
◆ More Women in decision making positions;
◆ Growing Women HH Incomes; and
◆ Equal opportunities for women.
Strategies to achieve
gender mainstreaming
The following strategies will be implemented during the NDS1 Period:
◆ Youth and Women Affirmative Action;
◆ Equal Opportunity for All Program;
◆ Promoting Women into Positions of Influence;
◆ Promoting Equality at all levels of Society;
◆ Advancing Women Political Representation;
◆ Youth and Women Advocacy Initiatives; and
◆ Enhancing Access to Financing for Women in Business.
◆ Maggie Mzumara is a communication, media and leadership strategist with a passion for leadership for women. This article is written in her personal capacity. She can be reached on [email protected] or followed on Twitter at @magsmzumara
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