Story by Fungai Jachi
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has been commended for playing a pivotal role in the country’s journey towards the attainment of gender equality.
Over the past 10 years, the government, working through the ZGC, has implemented various programmes and rallied stakeholders to help shape a more inclusive and gender-equal society.
However, stakeholders feel more can still be done to achieve the desired 50:50 ratio in all spaces.
“Let us intensify our efforts to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, to eliminate gender-based violence, promote fair economic participation and ensure that gender equality is embedded in all areas of national development,” Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus Senator Maybe Mbowa said.
“We men can stand for women and girls, we can actually make a difference and when we are talking of gender, it is talking to all of us, it’s not only a women’s issue,” Men4Equality National Co-ordinator Mr Chaka Ruzvidzo stated.
“I also call on you to strengthen accountability and ensure that progressive laws and policies do not remain on paper, but that they are implemented, monitored and evaluated,” UN Women Country Representative Ms Fatou Aminata Lo said.
ZGC Chairperson, Commissioner Margret Mukahanana-Sangarwe and the Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development, Senator Monica Mutsvagwa acknowledged the gaps that remain in attaining gender equality.
“We managed to influence several policy, legislative and societal changes as far as gender equality is concerned. A good example is that with our advisories to the executive Ministers are now appointing boards that are gender balanced,” Commissioner Mukahanana-Sangarwe said.
“When I say women empowerment and gender equality, it is not just a morality issue, it is a strategic step to the development of the economy of our country. So we want to continue to strengthen the women of this country to make sure that they also play their role in export programmes and also to make sure that all the institutions in the country work with the women,” Senator Mutsvangwa noted.
The government is making deliberate efforts to protect the rights of women and has since adopted progressive legislative reforms that have advanced the rights of women and girls, notably the amendment of the Marriages Act (2022), which outlaws child marriages, and the Education Amendment Act (2020), which protects girls’ right to education during pregnancy and motherhood.
