The Centre for Natural Resource Governance joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD2022), Women’s month and participating in the #BreakTheBias campaign. CNRG pays tribute to women in resource-rich communities who endure systematic and systemic exclusion from natural resource governance by the state, patriarchy and capitalist structures. Premeditated or not, biases hinder democratic participation of women in natural resources governance.
In Zimbabwe, public policy and environmental impact assessment consultations are largely dominated by men. The sector itself remains pre-dominantly male as compared to the other industries; thus, the concerns of women are never factored in the management and governance of natural resources. The social, economic and environmental impacts of the extractive industries are often differently experienced by men and women. Women are increasingly becoming vulnerable to the negative impacts of extractive activities and less likely to have influence over how the resources are managed.
In Hwange, coal-seam underground fires have added to women, the burden of nursing injured children, some of whom have been left with permanent disabilities which affect their physical and cognitive functions. In Marange, Bikita and Lupane, women cannot freely gather firewood for domestic energy use for fear of being tortured by companies’ security guards and Forestry Commission rangers. In Mutoko, Murehwa and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, rural women continue to lose their land (for growing crops) to black-granite mining activities. Today, women in Dinde and Lubimbi face imminent evictions from their homes to pave way for coal mining and dam construction projects. Mazowe, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Zvishavane and Gwanda are no longer safe places for women due to marauding Machete Gangs preying artisanal gold mining areas. The high appetite for minerals by the elites in Zimbabwe has brought deep and extensive trauma to women across Zimbabwe.
CNRG calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to uphold Section 80 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe ensuring that “every woman has full and equal dignity of the person with men, and this includes equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.” Extractive activities should not diminish women’s access to economic and social assets.
Women are the linchpins of communities, with key functions in ensuring the health, nutrition, education and security of those around them. Investing in women and guaranteeing their participation is not only key for their own development, but also for the socio-economic development of their families and communities by and large.
Equal participation in decision making in the extractive sector is critical to addressing inequalities and ensuring that the sector is managed in the interest of all citizens. We can only sustainably manage our natural resources by recognising and promoting the participation of women in the extractive sector. Women remain the only hope for a sustainable future!