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Ruth Butaumocho African Agenda
AS preparations to celebrate the 40th Independence anniversary gather momentum, the nation is introspecting on the journey Zimbabwe has traversed, looking at challenges, achievements and to work on a new path to Vision 2030.

This year’s celebrations, to be held in Bulawayo, are historic in that they come at a time when Zimbabwe has taken economic diplomacy and international re-engagement as the centrepiece of the country’s foreign policy.

Economic diplomacy and international re-engagement have already been defined as strategic policies in growing and resuscitating the country’s economic situation as the nation gears in fulfilling Vision 2030.

All these policies lie on a thick cushion, made up of bones of gallant sons and daughters, who lost their lives in the liberation struggle that ushered in the independence that we enjoy today.

With independence came dignity for the black majority regardless of creed, colour or sex.

Through the barrel of the gun, women eventually attained suffrage rights, graduating from being minors, to adults who could actually have property in their names.

It is on that basis that women continue to call for more opportunities in all sectors in fulfilment of the aspirations of thousands of departed sons and daughters of the soil.

Their call has not gone unheeded, but has been ably supported by a litany of legislations that speak to gender quality. To date, the country has several progressive gender equality laws that were promulgated after the Government realised the need to give women equal opportunities, with their male counterparts.

The enactment of gender equality laws that the country boasts probably owes its existence to the promulgation of the Legal Age of Majority Act in 1982. Many will remember with nostalgia how the 1982 law ushered in a new gender narrative to end the discrimination of women.

A product of independence euphoria, the Legal Age of Majority Act was in itself revolutionary in addressing the central issue of women’s disadvantage under the African customary law: their total lack of capacity to act as legally recognised adults, capable of owning property, entering into contracts and making legally enforceable decisions without having to involve men.

During the period between 1982 and 1990, several other pieces of legislation that impacted positively on women were to follow as the Government sought to level the playground to ensure that the female populace had equal access to opportunities.

Such laws as Customary Law and Primary Courts Act (1980) and the Matrimonial Causes Act No. 33 (1985), which provided for equitable distribution of matrimonial assets upon divorce, created the necessary social comfort for women, who often lost out on property and estate once the husband dies or during divorce.

During the late 1990s, the Government shifted its thrust to economic and political empowerment of women.

Following consultative meetings with stakeholders, the Government came up with the National Gender Policy of 2004, which gave guidance on the policing of gender issues.

It was through such policy interventions that stakeholders advocating gender equality, realised that economic progression of women will remain utopian unless it was supported by policy documents.

That decision gave birth to the Broad-Based Women’s Economic Empowerment Framework and the Domestic Violence Act of 2007 which sought to remove the social, psychological and economic challenges that women faced.

These policies were supported by the Gender Responsive Economic Policy Management Initiative (GEPMI) whose goal was to equip policymakers, economists and other development practitioners with the expertise and ability to mainstream gender aspects into economic development policy formulations.

All these policies were inspired by the need to prop up women in various sectors of the economy.

But like proverbial seeds, some of the policies fell on barren land and did not yield anything, while others spawned seeds of greatness that the nation enjoys to this day.

While it may not have been a smooth sail in the last four decades, the journey had its momentous occasions, which outnumber violent storms encountered along the way. The majority of women who will partake in this year’s independence celebrations, will do so knowingly that the 40 years were not completely lost in terms of advancing gender equality and promoting the human rights of women and girls.

Several women now hold top and powerful posts in the corporate sector whilst others are running flourishing businesses. Many have become academic gurus who are now flying the country’s flag high in their respective areas.

The nation may not have attained the SADC 50-50 gender parity on political and economic representation yet, but having women in critical spaces in decision making has been a sign of progress in a society where a brutal patriarchal history exists.

It is, however, undisputed that women have made great strides in occupying spaces previously regarded as strongholds for men, thanks to a litany of legislative pieces that promotes gender equality across all sectors.

Women now exist loudly in spaces which were once a preserve for men.

They have broken the glass ceilings in the academic world, aviation, medicine, business and in politics. For instance, the appointment of Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri in 2018 as the first female Defence minister in Zimbabwe points to a positive gender equality trajectory, ably supported by existing legislation to advance women.

These gains in gender quality are also evident in education, where girls and boys are now at par in both primary and secondary education enrolment.

The same will power to ensure that girls get good education is also being accompanied by efforts to keep them in school and to promote role models by developing gender responsive curricula.

However, challenges lie at tertiary level, where there has been an uncomfortable decline in the number of girls who are pursuing professional education.

This is one area which the Government would need to pursue vigorously by putting in place systems that promote the attainment of tertiary education by girls.

It also calls to note that despite the existence of these constitutional provisions, instruments and policies promoting gender equality, evidence suggest that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that boardrooms and political spaces better reflect the gender diversity of our country.

Both the Government and the private sector need to continue opening up spaces for women to take up leadership positions in line with existing legislation.

We believe women’s appointments should not be soft expedient decisions done for optics, but they should be given roles that demand the best of them.

That spells the need to put systems in place to present girls with fair access to compete for opportunities and whenever they come out as the best candidates, they should not be prejudiced based on their sex.

On the social side, gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive and negative practices that continue to haunt society.

Cases of sexual, physical and mental assault continue to go up unabated, with seemingly no solution in sight.

We believe the nation has a role to play in curbing the micro-aggressions that lead to incidences, which are entrenched in societal daily practices.

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