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Remember Deketeke, Herald Correspondent
WOMEN can be catalysts for social, economic, and political transformation and platforms such as the Women in Leadership Summit inaugurated in Harare yesterday can help uplift and empower nations, delegates have said.
The summit was attended by influential women, not only from Zimbabwe, but also across the world, who shared ideas and confronted challenges that are faced by females in today’s world vis a vis the digital era and its inherent threats.
The summit brought together a panel of inspiring women leaders, innovators, and change-makers from across the continent to discuss pivotal issues, share success stories, and forge new paths towards a brighter future for all African women.
The 2024 summit is being held under the theme: “Accelerating gender parity through collective action: Strengthening accountability and solidarity to transform policies into tangible progress.”
Delivering the keynote address, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said women must not forget to forge intergenerational connections, ensuring that the vision that was articulated yesterday resonated with and inspired the next generation of leaders.
“As we look forward, we must also never forget the historical antecedence of the liberation struggles that have bequeathed to us this foundation on which our empowerment is based,” she said.
“The prosecution of the various asymmetric guerrilla wars of necessity obviated the full inclusion and participation of the female gender half of the populace. Otherwise, the victory of the scientific people’s wars would simply not have been attainable if it had been prosecuted with only the male gender participating.”
The State’s achievements in women empowerment were because of the “ideologically-driven Government”, Sen Mutsvangwa added. The creation of rural work spaces for women, she said, needs to pick up speed.
“We need to accelerate the slow pace of rural work space provision for our women, bearing in mind that the majority of the population is still rural, and hence the slow pace implementation gives poor rewards and perpetuates rural poverty.
“Every effort must therefore be made to lessen the drudgery of the rural economy which inordinately weighs down the woman and the girl child,” Sen Mutsvangwa said.
Founder and managing director of Securico Security Services, Dr Divine Ndhlukula, said there was need to push for education to obtain talent, which would lead to the growth and industrialisation that would eventually lead to empowerment.
“Zimbabwe is symbolic of empowerment because of the push by successive Governments given to education. This should empower more women and girls in the countryside to make sure that they get the requisite tools to prosper in this male dominated and competitive environment.”
The Herald Editor Victoria Ruzvidzo spoke on cyberbullying, stressing that this scourge was impeding progress by women in business, politics, health and other sectors as they were intimidated by the bullying and negative comments online.
“We are here lamenting the subdued numbers of women in most spheres of influence. Cyberbullying has played a big role in this. We need to stand up as women to fight it. Let’s familiarise ourselves with the Data Protection Act which has provisions to tame this scourge and ensure digital safety for us,” he said.
Christian Aid country director Ms Oline Chapisa said violence against women and girls was an ancient sin.
“Violence against women or girls is a long-standing immorality that the church is tasked to stop,” she said. “Since the church has the biggest audiences than any other businesses, it is then tasked to make sure that violence against women and girls is eradicated.”
The Women in Leadership Summit is expected to grow into a powerful movement, creating opportunities and platforms that unleash the untapped potential of Zimbabwean women.
Online Reporter