Women’s organisations have concurred over the need to promote constitutional literacy of women in Zimbabwe, lobby for more seats for women in parliament and in public offices as well as set up gender observatory. The women also highlighted the need for intergenerational continuity in order to strengthen women’s movement.
The above sentiments were shared where women’s rights movement organizations convened to take stock, discuss and share election observation findings in the political, economic, social and environmental context following the 30 July harmonised elections.
At the meeting there was a general consensus that there is still no parity within political parties, society as a whole is still patriarchal and the media is still biased towards men.
Speaking with regards to the political context, it was highlighted that challenges such as polarization and violence against women are some of the drawbacks noted. In the economic context issues such as lack of resources, economic uncertainty and lack of funding were drawbacks to women emancipation. On social context, it was highlighted that women face difficulties in accessing justice and information. The current environment, according to women, is polarized and unpredictable. On the legal context, equality on political representation is still low, the electoral act is silent on political parties and gender parity, Political Parties Finance Act is silent on funding aspiring female candidates, vote buying and intimidation, cyber harassment and constitutional literacy.
The women’s organisations explored co-creating a feminist-driven platform for post-election advocacy agenda to strengthen women’s participation and positioning. The point of departure was a strong independent and autonomous women movement that will maintain women’s voice.
The host, Women’s Coalition had invited Women in Politics Support Unit, Her Zimbabwe, Women’s Action Group, Taga life, National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (NANGO) and UN Women, to name a few, convened under the theme “The post-2018 Zimbabwe harmonised elections agenda for women rights and gender equality: Stocktaking, opportunities and accountability”.
