Online Reporter
Mkhululi Ncube [email protected]
WOMEN may have increasing access to critical means of production, but many still struggle to secure ownership and control of productive assets, limiting their ability to fully participate in the economy, a Bulawayo-based legal expert, Ms Swally Munherendi, has said.
She noted that more awareness was needed to equip women with knowledge on their rights and practical ways of converting access to resources into meaningful ownership and economic empowerment.
Ms Munherendi made the remarks on Friday during a Feminist Economies Brown Bag Dialogue hosted by Emthonjeni Women’s Forum in Bulawayo to explore how women’s paid and unpaid work, livelihoods, care and access to resources shape their economic realities.
The dialogue was attended by women from Bulawayo and Insiza district in Matabeleland South Province.
“In the Gender Justice space we always say access is not ownership. When you have access to land, access to a vehicle, does it mean you own it if it is not registered in your name?
“Being registered as a depended on a property document does not mean you own it, being registered as a witness when you are signing an agreement of sale does not mean you own it,” said Ms Munherendi.
She noted that many women are still facing a number of barriers to ownership despite laws that have been enacted to empower them.
A number of people in rural areas do not register estate because it is assumed that the remaining person must inherit it which creates challenges for women, said the expert.
“We implore the pubic to always go to courts near them for information. Every magistrates’ courts have someone who can assist and if they cannot assist they refer you to where you can get assistance,” said Ms Munherendi.
Emthonjeni Women`s Forum programmes officer Ms Plaxedes Moyo said they were involved in a number of programmes to empower women through sustainable livelihoods.
She said their desire was for women from rural and urban areas to share information on challenges they face.
“We are implementing a project called ‘Closing the Tap, Promoting Women Access’ to land rights’ in Wards 7, 8 and 10 in insiza District. We empower them to start nutrition gardens, give them goats and fingerlings to start fish farming among others so that they have money and able to make decisions, which help reduce gender based violence,” she said.
-@themkhust
