Women should vote wisely

neighbourhood because of the high secu­rity wall, exotic Brazil­ian brown paint and parapet roof.
Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to get closer and inquire what was happening.
My initial inquiring was met with trepidation, and when I was about to give up, one of the women, probably in her early 30s and with a baby on the back told me that they were waiting to see the councillor, for their weekly ration of maize-meal and beans.
The lady, who suddenly became talkative and now appeared restless, probably because of hunger and fatigue — God bless her soul — said the councillor only gave out a few pockets of 5kg maize meal, a week back and since then he had been making empty prom­ises.
As she continued talking, my eyes darted back and forth to the rest of the group, who now appeared ready to talk and would intermittently interrupt the flow of the conversation adding some tit bits to the whole story.
They all appeared reasonably intelligent, well-groomed, save for one or two and were able to articu­late their story without getting mixed up or saying the same thing over and over again.
“Baba ivava vane chitsotsi munoziva. Patakavavhotera vakativimbisa kutipa mari yemapro­jects.
“Vakabva vaenda. Apa hameno kwavanga vava kugara. Vakadzoka muna July vakachi­tanga kupa vanhu chikafu,” interjected one of the ladies who had been quiet when the conver­sation took off.
What, however, was clear during the few min­utes that I was with the group of women was their despera­tion for the maize-meal and had no plans of leaving unless they had spoken to the councillor.
With Zimbabwe heading for elections some time next year, once the parties agree on the elec­tion roadmap, individuals har­bouring political ambi­tions and well-seasoned politicians have started posi­tioning themselves for elections.
For some campaigning is already in full throt­tle judging by an increase in political meetings and the number of trucks laden with groceries that are now a common feature at most growth points across Zim­babwe.
Even rural folk can attest that good old days are cer­tainly back, as they are now partaking in mid week par­ties that are being hosted by their long forgotten con­stituency representatives.
The election fever is best felt even at the high­est level, where political parties have even started vetting their own people to try and establish who they can field for different con­stituencies, probably looking at individu­al  capabilities and the value addition they give to their political parties.
Even voters have already started identify­ing candi­dates to vote into office. It is within that spirit of elec­tions that women should not lose focus on their aspira­tions and what they like to achieve as politicians jostle for nominations and support from the same electorate they once dumped after being sworn into office.
History has shown that once voted into office more than 50 percent of politicians abandon their con­stituencies only to resurface just before another round of elections, with a lot of empty promises in a bid to lure back the electorate.
That development is not a new phenomenon, but it is as old as human kind not only in Zim­babwe but also across Africa and other regions.
Armed with such an unpleasant background that speaks nothing short of hypocrisy and sin­ister motives on the part of some politicians, women should have a discerning eye and flash out these fly-by-night oppor­tunists who mas­querade as politicians.
They should start looking for candidates who will carry forward their dreams, aspirations and better their lives.
Contrary to societal perceptions which regard women as an undecided lot, who can fall for any whims and are also perceived as a gullible lot, women of Zim­babwe now have a template of what they want and how they can achieve it.
Unlike previous years where women would queue for long hours for a bag of maize meal and a cup of beans that is no longer the case.
They have actually set their standards high, defined their turf and are now looking at empowerment, eman­cipation health and equal­ity as issues of urgent consid­eration.
Women are now looking for a political party or a candidate with the said ethos that will not end in a party manifesto document, but will also be imple­mented holistically, whose benefits would be there for everyone to see, long after they are gone.
They are not looking for empowerment projects that will not last longer than dew, but now want eman­cipation initiatives that will transform their lives com­pletely and will con­tinue to survive long after they are gone.
However, one cannot rule out that social cul­tural bar­riers and gender roles some­times stop women from exercising their right to choose their preferred candi­date, but they need to realise that the prevail­ing politi­cal landscape is in their favour to enable them to take charge of their own destiny.
I believe the political landscape that currently exists is more than ready to accept women lead­ership, at cell, district, provincial and national level so long they are able to define national values and have a vision on how they intend to carry Zimbabwe to another level, with­out compro­mising the nation’s dignity.
It is that virtuous determination that ushered the likes of Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma current African Union chair into office, propelled Joice Mujuru to dizzy political heights and had Thokozani Khupe elected into office.
Women should not continue to be bystanders when issues of national importance like elec­tions are taking place, but they should also actively participate not only as voters-with well documented record of gyrating at rallies — but also as officer bearers.  
Rather than spend hours queuing for mealie meal, women should instead identify female prospective can­didates in their midst and sup­port them right up to elections.