The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
‘WOMEN in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’ is the 2021 International Women’s Day theme, a day which is celebrated annually on 8 March throughout the world to take stock of the status of women, to celebrate their milestones in a world where gender equality and women’s participation is at the fore of discussions.
This year’s commemorations are unique in that they fall in a year where the world is on its knees, dealing with a deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Women have not been spared by the devastating effects of the virus.
This has however not deterred them from speaking about the challenges they are facing, find solutions to them and make the world a gender balanced place.
Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), a local nonprofit making organization has carried out a number of local and national level advocacy initiatives and capacitating women as a way of gathering a critical mass needed to influence local and national policies.
The core objective of the organisation is to build and strengthen the power of women’s involvement in leadership and decision-making processes at local, sub-national and national levels, both in rural and urban communities of Zimbabwe.
The organization has set up a Leadership Mentoring School for young women and girls to assist in empowering them to actively participate in politics and other leadership roles.
Mosupatsila Nare, the Legal Officer for WILD unpacked the programme encouraging women to take up the opportunity in the future
What is the Leadership Mentoring school?
This is a mentorship programme that we are conducting under one of our projects under the She Leads Leadership Development Project. This project is supported by one of our partners whose main purpose is to see women participating actively in both civic and political institutions. This programme has been running since January 2020 and we have recruited 50 mentees from our five operational areas which are, Lupane, Mzingwane, Plumtree, Gwanda and Bulawayo.
In enrolling these young women aspiring leaders we flighted adverts for the aspiring leaders for a mentorship programme where they would have sessions with seasoned women in politics and leadership arena so that they impart knowledge on aspiring leaders.
This mentoring will run until the 2023 harmonised elections as we are looking to groom leaders who will run in these elections.
The programme is not only limited to political leadership but we believe that women need to be strengthened in capacity and leadership in whatever role they are holding be it in civic capacities, in their communities, businesses etc. They need the capacitation in knowledge and skills to be good leaders.
The main outcomes?
The main outcome of this training is to see increased women representation in potions in civic and political institutions. It takes note that after many years of protracted struggles for women’s inclusion in public and political decision-making processes and positions in Zimbabwe in 2013 a constitution was passed which was praised as gender responsive.
It was celebrated as one of the most progressive legislative frameworks in the continent with gender equality as one of its key founding principles. So, if we take note of the Constitution it speaks to gender equality and the rights of women. Section 17, speaks of the State taking all measures including legislative measures to ensure both genders are equally represented in all institutions and agencies of government at every level.
We have seen that Zimbabwe not only relies on this progressive Constitution in the realization and promotion of the rights of women but Zimbabwe has also been a signatory and ratified international and regional instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and girls, CEDAW, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Regionally, we have ratified the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights. All these legal instruments speak to the rights of women’s participation in the political and decision-making processes of women, they speak on the right to equality, gender balance, women being afforded spaces of leadership in all aspects.
So, we have seen that despite having such a strong and progressive legal framework that governs the gender balance area that speaks to women’s rights in political leadership and public participation, there are still major gaps when It comes to the implementation of these instruments. Through our mentorship programme we are aiming to ensure that as much as we have these instruments, we actually offer them a platform where they are prepared for that leadership role.
You also noted that in some instances, those women do not have that kind of information that guarantees their rights to participation. We are giving them an opportunity to have access to this information, to know their rights and that there are frameworks that allow them to run for office to be leaders in their communities. We have noticed that there is a lack of political will influenced by the patriarchal nature of our leadership to push for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
2018 election setback
The 2018 elections witnessed a setback in numbers of women appointed to Parliament and senate despite a constitution that orders a 50-50 representation in decision making. Statistics in the 2013 general elections resulted in a 35 percent being elected into the national assembly, 45 percent into senate 16.7 in local authorities and nine percent in Cabinet.
The result in the last election saw 32 percent of women in the national assembly, 44 in the senate, 14 in local government, 29 percent in the Cabinet which marked a rise. Comparing these statistics, you can see a decline in women elected into these positions of leadership.
Considering this decline, the 50-50 representation of women and men remains a dream that is still to be realized. It is also conclusive that when the electoral playing field is uneven, patriarchal and prejudiced, women are automatically marginalized.
The legislative frameworks that we have are not known by the groups of people they seek to empower and protect. Their ignorance exposes them to abuse and discrimination due to their failure to claim their rights using these pieces of legislation and demanding accountability from duty bearers.
Through our WILD leadership mentoring and training we are working on making women conscious of their rights to participation. We believe that once we share these things, they can know that they are able to be leaders.
The women are being led by 12 mentees that are taking the young women for training and mentoring.
The change they wish to see?
We wish to see an increase in the number of women who run for office and get elected in the forthcoming elections as we are equipping them with skills and information in the leadership programme. We also want to increase the number of mentees from 50 to a larger number. We also wish to see an increase in women representation in leadership positions and public leadership. We are working to see women being ethical, confident with a vision and purpose as they get into these spaces.
We also hope to see women challenging gender discrimination inequalities, norms and practices which undermine their participation in leadership. We want to see women challenging patriarchy and rise above these setbacks to become effective leaders who will make a change.
With this mentoring opportunity in mind, Happy International Women’s Day!
@NyembeziMu
