The Sunday News
Mkhululi Ncube, Sunday News Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has urged the Government to increase financial allocations to institutions that provide loans to women in the country to cushion them against economic challenges and ensure they are adequately empowered.
The commission has been conducting the annual provincial gender forums which will culminate in the holding of the National Gender Forum set for Masvingo next Wednesday. After the national gender forum, the Commission will table a report to parliament on issues affecting women economic empowerment.
This year`s thrust of the gender forum is on economic empowerment of women and deliberations are centered on the challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment. The Government established the Women’s Micro-Finance Bank, Women’s Development Fund and Community Development Fund to fund women’s projects across the country.
Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa
The ZGC chief executive officer, Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa told the Sunday News in an interview recently at Ntabazinduna Hall during the Matabeleland North Provincial Gender Forum that funding to these institutions was not enough.
“As of now there is no balance between the amount of money that the institutions have and the demand. There is need to increase allocation to these institutions because as long as the money is not enough all it means is that women are given small amounts that are not enough to transform their businesses.
There is also need for more players to come on board while existing banks should become more gender responsive. Besides money, women need support to come up with well-articulated proposals for projects they can do,” she said.
Mrs Muwanigwa said collateral demanded by banks remained the biggest challenge facing women and preventing them from accessing funding. She said women were disadvantaged because they have no power and control over resources due to patriarchal society where men have the final say on property.
“The other challenge is that the further someone is from were resources are, the less the chances of being able to get them. We need to recognize the different local communities that we have and as we allocate, balance the distribution of resources so that even women from rural areas benefit. This also requires awareness on the existence of these funds because the more people are aware the more there is demand for these funds,” she said.
Mrs Muwanigwa said the commission was pushing for women to get the resources they required as it would empower them to speak about issues that affecting them like gender-based violence.
Addressing delegates at the gender forum, ZGC deputy chairperson Mr Obert Matshalaga said women’s economic empowerment was key to the achievement of gender equality. He said empowerment of women facilitate their ability to participate equally in existing markets as well as give them the equal footing to access and have control over the means of production.
“Economic empowerment is about access to and control of resources. This means women should have access and control of income at household level, ownership of resources such as land and other assets, have own savings, have access to credit, and have specialized skills,” he said. — @themkhust
