Heather Charema in Chegutu
Chegutu Rural District Council (RDC) has set up a Gender Committee that will ensure gender mainstreaming in all its service delivery while educating rural communities on gender-based violence, inheritance, child abuse and property rights, among other issues.

This follows a realisation by the RDC that most rural communities had not embraced gender issues and due to lack of appreciation of the law many were losing their property over inheritance and gender-based issues.

The committee comprises council gender focal person, Government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Speaking at a full council meeting yesterday, Chegutu RDC’s social services chairperson Cllr Cannisius Mutimusakwa said the RDC had managed to carry out gender sensitisation meetings in some wards.

“Council now has a gender focal person, gender champion and the gender committee,” he said.

“The aim of the gender committee is to ensure that gender is mainstreamed in all council service delivery. In the second quarter of this year the committee managed to carry out gender sensitisation meetings in ward 1 and ward 5.”

The committee, Cllr Mutimusakwa said, was in the process of forming gender committees in wards and intended to have a gender policy in the future.

“The gender committee will carry out the sensitisation meetings in all wards, thus fulfilling its aim to form gender committees in all wards,” he said.

“Council is intending to have a gender policy in the near future which will guide it in dealing with gender issues both internal and external.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the full council meeting, Chegutu RDC community services officer Mr Tawanda Kangai said through sensitisation of gender mainstreaming, the rural communities will appreciate the girl child while promoting women participation in governance issues.

“This committee will see the promotion of gender mainstreaming internally and externally, this means that issues to do with recruitment, gender abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace are dealt with,” he said.

“External committee will see gender mainstreaming in all our service delivery even in issuance of stands we will take gender into consideration.

“This committee is the one that will cascade to the ward based committees training and educating them on gender abuse, child abuse, property rights, marriage laws, inheritance, counselling, GBV and all other gender issues. This will make our rural communities appreciate the girl child, reduce gender based violence while promoting women participation in governance issues.”

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