Heal Zimbabwe Trust joins the world in the 113th celebration of the International Women’s Day. This year’s celebration, held under the theme ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ and as aptly captured in the #InspireInclusion Campaign underscores the value and importance of inclusion in tackling economic disempowerment and all forms of structural inequalities that stand in the way of gender equality.
Over the past years, Heal Zimbabwe has through its Women Safe Spaces for Reconciliation (WSSR) and other community peace clubs, brought together women of diverse backgrounds and opinions to take the lead in conflict transformation, building peace and fostering social cohesion. These spaces have produced community leaders in peacebuilding, social accountability, human rights monitoring and championing gender equality. Under our #AsOne Campaign, young women came together to promote harmony in the diversity of their political beliefs during the 2023 elections. We celebrate these community leaders and all the women who have tirelessly worked to build and hold the nation together in a variety of heroic ways.
Sadly, even as calls for increased participation of women in key governance and decision making structures grow louder, women continue to be excluded and underrepresented in government, business and all spheres of the political economy. The path to equal
representation in all strata of our society continues to be plagued with gender-based violence, online violence and deeply entrenched traditional stereotypes that reinforce the social, economic and political exclusion of women.
The Zimbabwe Gender Commission, mandated by Section 246 of the Constitution to do everything necessary to ensure and promote gender equality has been an underfunded paper tiger in addressing these issues. The commission has since 2015 been unable to decentralize its operations with some of its provincial offices only opening in 2024 while it is yet to establish offices at district level. This has limited access to this critical independent commission designed to support democracy for ordinary women in remote areas.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, in the face of the aforementioned challenges and realities, Heal Zimbabwe recommends the following be done to accelerate progress towards gender equality.
1. The Zimbabwe Gender Commission must be adequately funded and decentralized to every district to ensure access for all so that it lives up to its Constitutional mandate.
2. We call for an end to all forms of violence against women and girls.
3. We call for affirmative action through legal and socioeconomic reform to ensure Zimbabwe upholds both its international obligations and Constitutional guarantees of gender equality and an end to structural inequalities.
4. We call for the strict enforcement of our laws to address all forms of violence, including online violence, against women and girls.
5. We call on the government to come up with a comprehensive National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security to ensure the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).
6. We join the United Nations in calling for collective action in the five key action areas towards gender equality: investing in women’s rights, ending poverty, implementing gender responsive financing, shifting towards green economies and supporting feminist change makers.
7. We call for collaboration between the state, civil society and other partners in the promotion of gender equality and the full participation of women in building peace and social cohesion.
Heal Zimbabwe Trust remains committed to play our part towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5. A peaceful, socially cohesive and inclusively prosperous Zimbabwe is only possible when gender equality and full women empowerment is realized