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Minister Chikwinya

Tendai Gukutikwa Mutare Bureau
Government has decried the under-representation of women at the highest levels in decision making positions and called for special attention to bring about parity with their male counterparts.

Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Minister Nyasha Chikwinya said on Friday last week that her ministry had since launched the revised National Gender Policy, whose major goal was to eradicate gender discrimination.

She was speaking at the Manicaland Provincial consultative and sensitisation meeting for the development of a national strategy for increasing women’s participation in decision making positions held in Mutare.

“Statistics show that women constitute only 34 percent of the current Parliament, which is 125 women out of 350 seats,” she said.

“Out of 26 ministers, only three are women and out of 10 Provincial Affairs Ministers, only three are women and out of 19 deputy ministers, only five are women.”

Minister Chikwinya said with regards to political participation and decision making, there was still very low representation of women, notwithstanding the reserved quota for women in Parliament.

In line with Section 17 of the Constitution, which states that the State must promote full gender balance in the Zimbabwean society, Minister Chikwinya said it was her ministry’s aim to help achieve a gender-just society, where women and men enjoyed equal opportunities.

She said at the global level, research had shown that the world was losing $17 trillion a year by excluding women from participation in sustainable development activities.

“Active participation of women in decision making positions will guarantee the development of any nation,” said Minister Chikwinya.

“Women’s under-representation in decision making positions is the result of institutionalised patriarchy, which in turn manifests itself through an entrenched male-dominated culture and standards, resulting in unequal power relations between men and women.

Minister Chikwinya said her ministry conceded that without the active participation of women and the incorporation of their perspectives at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality could not be achieved. She said it was time more women took up leadership positions and be decision makers.

Minister Chikwinya urged fellow females and males to rally behind women who took the huge step of joining politics and vote for them in elections.

Permanent Secretary in Minister Chikwinya’s ministry, Mrs Sibusisiwe Zembe and various stakeholders from both the public and private sectors from across all the seven districts in Manicaland, attended the event.