Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Writer
WOMEN and young girls bear the biggest brunt of the acute water shortages facing Bulawayo and power outages across the country, a situation that forces them to spend hours on borehole queues as well as hunting for firewood in the bush.
The two items emerged as top concerns from stakeholders who attended the Bulawayo leg of the Provincial Gender Forum hosted by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission in the city on Friday.
The Annual Provincial Gender Forums are held as a build up to the National Gender Forum to be hosted by Matabeleland South in Gwanda next month.
This year’s dialogue focuses on the gendered impact of the environment and climate change challenges as a result of the El-nino-induced drought, which was declared a national state of disaster.
The forums are being held under the theme: “Gender, Environment and Climate Change: Building Resilience and Sustainable Development through Gender Equality”.
In Bulawayo the drought situation has resulted in the city almost running dry due to low water levels in its supply dams, sparking problems like sewage bursts with a heightened threat of water-borne diseases.
The drought situation has also affected electricity generation at Kariba Hydro Power Station, which relies on water, thereby limiting supplies resulting in load shedding.
“The water crisis is exposing residents to water-borne diseases while the same problem at national level is causing untold cutting down of trees in the city as residents are looking for cheap sources of power,” reads one of the reports following group discussions.
“There is also increased air pollution in the city as trees, which act as barriers are cut down.”
Participants also lamented teenage pregnancies and drug and substance abuse, which they said were linked to the challenges of water shortages and firewood gathering.
Concern was also raised on mining activities near city supply dams and around the city with participants saying the situation was worsening resulting in long–term environmental problems.
“The mining activities happening around the city`s catchment area be it gold or lithium mining are of concern as well as they are exposing residents to health risks,” reads a report from another group.
“Some of the elderly in the city cannot afford moving around looking for water and firewood. Women and the girls are most affected by these as they need clean water for menstrual health while girls may miss school as a result of water challenges. Those with disabilities are also affected as they may not be able to fight for these resources.”
An official from the Forestry Commission, Ms Elizabeth Chauke, lamented the high demand for firewood and charcoal in the city, which has increased firewood poaching in areas around the city.
She said poaching was also affecting trees meant for timber used in furniture making like mukwa and teak, which are protected by law.
“Our forests around the city are being seriously affected. We urge those who are into firewood business to apply for permits so that we are able to monitor the harvesting of firewood to promote sustainable forest management.
“This may lead to the extinction of some of the species in our forests,” said Ms Chauke.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Bulawayo provincial manager, Sitshengisiwe Ndlovu, said women have been affected by the water crisis as most of their projects use water.
“We have women who are into mat production and selling these products both locally and for the export market. Due to water challenges and land degradation through wrong agricultural practices, the raw materials they use are affected, which may force them out of business,” she said.
Officially opening the forum, Zimbabwe Gender Commission chairperson, Commissioner Margarete Mukahanana–Sangarwe said the situation on the ground was threatening to reverse the gains the country has made in promoting gender equality.
“Although men and women are impacted similarly by environment and climate change, women are disproportionately affected as they rely heavily on the environment for household provision and livelihoods,” she said.
“The impact, however, threatens to reverse the gains made over the years in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment by further exacerbating vulnerabilities through disrupted livelihoods, increased food insecurity and compounded water and energy challenges.”
Com Mukahanana-Sangarwe called for inclusion of women in decision making when programmes and solutions for climate and environmental challenges are being worked out. — @themkhust
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