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Simbiso Marimbe Correspondent
The recently appointed Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) is a welcome development, notwithstanding the huge responsibility it has ahead. It is therefore important that this commission sets the agenda right from the word go, or risk becoming part of the furniture.

Numerous commissions have been tasked with various responsibilities before, but most of them have stood out for their gross failures. A word of caution to our newly appointed ZGC commissioners is that there are two types of commissions, failed and successful ones. They have to choose and let the nation know immediately, which one they would like to become.

Commitment and political will to make a difference is one demand that I can immediately place on the agenda of the newly appointed Commission. I say so, because the stakes for the ZGC are high. Foremost, as stated above, there are just but a few commissions that have made a difference in Zimbabwe. Secondly, this is the first time for Zimbabwe to have a Gender Commission.

Thirdly, there is already a heavy machinery working on gender issues in Zimbabwe, at cabinet, parliamentary, political party and civil society levels. Some media reports have hinted that government is considering cutting down on some of the commissions that are simply weighing heavily on the fiscus without adding much value. Indeed, if the Human Rights Commission could be adequately empowered, it would serve the same purpose. But since the nation has agreed that gender issues require specialist attention at the moment, it only makes sense for the Commission to strive to perform exceptionally well.

The relevance and necessity of the Gender Commission, as I would like to believe, lie in what value addition they will bring to the current set up. So the nation is expectant that the expertise of the Commission will facilitate a shift in some of the challenges the existing players have been grappling with —without much headway.

I am challenging the Commissioners to resign, the moment they realise they cannot operate effectively. That way, it would set a good precedence of integrity and serious commitment towards Zimbabwe’s progress, and am sure that would be record breaking.

If the Gender Commission sees a green light ahead, then perhaps the following sections of my article could be found relevant. I would like to catch the attention of the ZGC at this point and highlight some of the critical areas of attention it may consider for its agenda. There are serious gender related challenges short-changing the world today and if we want to make our nation beautiful and progressive, it would be worthwhile for the Commission to ponder these and endeavour to address them to the best of its abilities.

To distinguish itself from the rest of the commissions, the ZGC will not be expected to start by giving excuses. By the way this article is not only directed at the appointees, but especially, those that have appointed them. The old song of limited fiscal space and limited decision making powers, limited resources will not make the ZGC any different from failed others.

It makes sad reading when the media reports the recently dissolved POTRAZ Board have been disbanded on allegations of gross mismanagement of funds. One of the examples of this was cited as lavish spending on prolonged and unbefitting travel allowances and holiday escapades disguised as business trips.

This should be a warning sign to the newly appointed commission.

Even more saddening is Monday’s story alleging that the Auditor –General has unearthed fraudulent property dealings at the Anti-Corruption Commission— yes, at the Anti-Corruption Commission. It is not just annoying, but unacceptable.

Whilst the ZGC should be protected from challenges that continue to affect the performance of other constitutional commissions, including lack of Independence, lack of adequate resources, skewed accountability mechanisms, a weak mandate and lack of public support and confidence in their effectiveness, they also must live within their means.

Section 245 (2) clearly states that, “Members of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission must be chosen for their integrity and their knowledge and understanding of gender issues in social, cultural, economic and political sphere. . . ” Therefore, it shall be expected that the commission will spend a lot of its resources on executing its mandate rather than training the commissioners on what they should already know.

As a key institution constituted to work towards the elimination of the systemic barriers to gender equality and women’s rights in Zimbabwe and towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in Zimbabwe, the ZGC must take its mandate with the sanctity that it deserves.

Whilst I fully acknowledge the (a) to (i) functions of the ZGC as outlined in section 246 of the new constitution, I would like to emphasise section 246 (i) that states that the commission is mandated to ‘do everything necessary to promote gender equality’. As the commissioners are still familiarising with their roles and responsibilities as outlined by the constitution I would like to underline that gender equality is necessary, beneficial to nations and it is a human right. The guerrillas in the house include but are not limited to the following vexations.

Gender Based Violence and Sexual Abuses.

I have placed this at the top, not because it should be the first one to be prioritised, but because it is symptomatic and it is one of the most visible of the damage caused by gender inequalities. Efforts are being made by various stakeholders to mitigate the impact of gender based violence by providing medical, counselling, and other post exposure services.

The ZGC will be expected to support these interventions as well as seek more sustainable ways of ending this scourge, noting that this encompasses a broad range of gender related abuses such as physical, emotional and economic violence, rape, and sexual harassment, among others. A key challenge for the commission is to be able to identify the root causes and prevention solutions to this pandemic.

Gender and Decision Making

Whilst Zimbabwe has recorded a gradual increase in the number of women in its political structures with the parliamentary quota system reserving 60 seats for women, they still occupy only 31 percent seats (women occupy 85 out of 270 seats). The challenge for the ZGC is to influence a surge towards the 50 percent representation target of the SADC Gender Protocol. Outside parliament there is needed to break the glass ceilings that prohibit women’s advancement in all sectors including, private, public and non-profit sectors.

There is a worrisome scarcity of women on parastatal boards, church boards, political party structures, in cabinet, and other public service positions. A most recent example is the Zanu PF Mashonaland East election that did not have a single female candidate for the party Chairperson position. It would appear as if women are restricted to the Women’s League positions.

This is not peculiar to Zanu PF only, but it extends to other political parties in Zimbabwe.

Several professions remain dominated by men despite significant progress made by the education sector to ensure that women are trained in non-traditional professions such as engineering, law, medicine, among others.

The majority of women remain in the middle to lower levels of most professions resulting in company and organisational decisions being made by male bosses. Consequently, gender pay gaps are exacerbated, forming a vicious cycle of power and profit share gender inequalities.

The ZGC is called upon to investigate the glass ceilings thoroughly and ensure that they are effectively broken to allow for the equal advancement of both women and men in all sectors.

In future submissions I will look at the role the commission can play in other key aspects such as the media, culture, religion, socialisation as well as economic empowerment.