By Donald Nyarota
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) proudly participated in this year’s National Gender Forum, convened by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission to mark its 10th anniversary. The forum provided a vital platform to reflect on the progress made in advancing gender equality, while confronting the persistent barriers that women and marginalized groups continue to face.
This year’s National Gender Forum holds special significance as it marks the Commission’s 10th Anniversary since its establishment in September 2015. Under the theme, “ZGC @ 10: Reflecting on Achievements and the Future for Gender Equality in Zimbabwe,”.
For CNRG, engagement in this space was crucial, highlighting how gender justice is inseparable from natural resource governance, community rights, and sustainable development. Under a project funded by Amplify Change, Community-led resistance to Violence Against Women, CNRG is fighting gender-based violence (GBV) in mining communities across Zimbabwe.
In her remarks, ZGC chairperson Commissioner Margret Mukahanana Sangarwe bemoaned systemic barriers for women’s quest for equality, calling for collective efforts to address the existing gaps.
She said women continue to face the brunt of energy poverty, climate shocks, unpaid care work, and maternal health risks.
“Since 2015, we have received and handled over 11,000 cases. These cases include property disputes, child marriages, chieftainship conflicts, workplace discrimination, harassment, and various forms of gender-based and sexual violence.
“This volume of cases is a reminder of the critical role the Commission plays in protecting vulnerable groups — especially children and women — and in addressing systemic injustices. It also demonstrates the importance of supporting actions that strengthen institutional accountability and access to justice,” she said.
Zimbabwe Gender Commission chairperson, Commissioner Margret Mukahanana Sangarwe addressing delegates at the National Gender Forum
Minister of Women’s Affairs, Medium and Small Enterprises Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the anniversary must serve as both a celebration of progress and a call to action for the future as she reflected on the journey of women’s empowerment championed by the 1995 Beijing conference.
“We salute the government’s continued commitment to gender justice, the support of civil society organizations, and the active participation of young women and men who carry this vision into the future. Sustainable development is impossible without inclusivity, equality, and the empowerment of all people.
“As we celebrate ZGC’s 10th anniversary, let us recommit ourselves to building a Zimbabwe where every girl and boy, every woman and man, can live free from discrimination, empowered to participate fully in shaping our society,” she said.
Chairperson of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ), Muchanyara Makamuri, in her solidarity speech at the same occasion, applauded government progress by enacting legislation, adopting new policies, and introducing programmatic measures to address gender inequality.
Some of the recent milestones include the National Gender Policy (2025), the National Strategy on Ending Gender-Based Violence (2021–2025), and the National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2023–2027). These initiatives represent significant steps forward, yet gaps remain in achieving substantive gender equality.
“Persistent challenges include limited access to education for girls, high rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancy, unpaid care work that disproportionately burdens women, and underrepresentation in political and leadership positions.
“Despite constitutional commitments to gender balance, women currently make up only 24% of parliamentarians, 20% of ministers, 24% of local government councillors, 8% of chiefs, and 24% of directors in the public service, far below the 50/50 parity goal,” she said.
Women still face major barriers, including discriminatory norms and a lack of accountability, that prevent them from fully taking part in economic, social, and political activities. They are also more likely to be affected by poverty, poor maternal health, and gender-based violence, with at least 1 in 3 women experiencing physical or sexual abuse.
Limited investment in healthcare, justice, and social support services exacerbates these issues.
Delegates follow proceedings at the National Gender Forum at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC)
Moreover, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, disinformation, and exclusion of women with disabilities, migrants, and rural women highlight the need for an intersectional approach to gender equality.
To close these gaps, Zimbabwe must prioritize the domestication of all ratified treaties, the ratification of remaining optional protocols, and the full harmonization of laws and policies with constitutional provisions on equality. Achieving substantive gender equality will require setting measurable targets, allocating adequate resources, and establishing robust accountability systems across all institutions.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Harare Metropolitan Province, Charles Tavengwa, said gender equality is a national imperative, at the heart of national development, and a key national priority under the national constitution. NDS1 inclusive growth, gender cross-cutting issue.
“Let us embrace this Forum as a space for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collective action, a platform to shape a future where gender equality is not an aspiration, but a lived reality for all.
“Yet, as we reflect on this journey, we must also acknowledge that the road to full equality remains long and complex. We must continue to travel it with agency and unity,” said Tavengwa.
He added, “Gender equality is not just a women’s issue. It is a national development imperative — essential for prosperity, transformation, and sustainability. The Government of Zimbabwe has consistently emphasized the importance of placing gender equality at the center of development.”