A leading human rights defender has lauded Zimbabwe for advancing women empowerment through strategic policy and legislative structures. In this assessment Farai Maguwu director of Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), also made a clarion call for women to leverage on the opportunities presented by these structures.
Maguwu made these remarks to mark the International Women’s Day, at an event organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Hwange District Development Coordinator’s Office, and local Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Hwange.
Maguwu said the country’s standalone Ministry of Women’s Affairs, enactment of the Gender Policy and progressive policing by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) were significant pillars for the empowerment of women seldom found in other African nations.
“The advantage that we have as Zimbabwe is that we are ahead in terms of laws and policies on gender issues. We have the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, a gender policy while other nations in Africa are still lagging on those issues.
“We want these issues to be taken up, utilising the information that we have received, for opportunities for women to rise and start dominating in business, in politics, economic spaces.
“We have a police force that is well informed on the issue of gendered violence and women should seek help by speaking out on issues for women to be protected and have safe havens to prosper in our communities,” said Maguwu.
Officer in the Hwange District Development Coordinator (DDC) Nyaradzo Masoja said the government has also entrenched women empowerment at local authority level to ensure that women are involved from the lower tiers of governance.
She said the quota system in political parties, setting threshold of 30 percent for women representatives, provides women an opportunity to participate in politics and governance structures.
Masoja also singled out the Gender Affirmative Act of 2013 as a progressive legislation, saying it sets out that there should be gender balance and women should have equal access to opportunities and resources.
“Government is cognisant that there is no development without women that’s why at local levels we have inclusion of women in key decision making for programs and projects. In our local authorities we now have a department of gender with a focal person, to ensure that there is equality and development that is gender responsive.
“Our government is making all these strides to empower women, create opportunities for all and to champion equality in all spheres of governance,” she said.
CNRG gender and extractives lead Tracy Mutowekuziva said despite such proactive policies there is a need for advocacy efforts by civic society groups to reverse the disproportionate impact of mining activities on women.
She told The WEEKLY that women are disenfranchised from benefit-sharing schemes in the mining sector, with others facing systemic barriers to entry in the male-dominated industry, including political discrimination and challenges to access to funding.
“As CNRG we advocate for communities to benefit from the natural resource exploitation within their communities when they cannot benefit at least mining should not leave the people under worse off conditions.
“Women in such areas include women working in the mining companies they should be protected from all kinds of gendered discrimination including sexual harassment. The other class of women are just ordinary women in the community who are at the backseat when it comes to the benefits from mining but face negative impacts of resource extraction,” said Mutowekuziva.
“Women in mining businesses are facing challenges to access finance. Some women are only accessing such funds (from Women’s Bank) because of political connections, but we are advocating that such opportunities be available to all women,” she said.