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Ruth Butaumocho African Agenda

Exactly two weeks ago, Zimbabwe held its harmonised elections in a process that ushered in new political players who will represent their constituencies in Parliament and councils for the next five years.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) aggregated results of participants which paints a grim picture on female participation and the percentage of those who won in the recently conducted harmonised elections for both National Assembly and council seats.

Out of the 70 female candidates who threw their hats for the 209 National Assembly seats that were up for contest, only 22 emerged victorious in these high-octane plebiscite, while a higher percentage was obtained from local authority polls.

The result of female contestants was an expected outcome, considering that all political parties fielded less women compared to men as campaigns heated up months before the plebiscite.

The few that managed to win both primary and harmonised elections say they had bruising battles characterised by vote buying, intimidation, lack of resources, social media trolling and all forms of chicanery activities to scare them off from the race.

Notwithstanding the hurdles, the 22 women both from the ruling Zanu PF political party and the opposition CCC, shrugged off stiff competition and sailed to victory.

The victory of the 22 has since been embraced across political divide, because women’s representation or lack of it thereof, is a subject of contestation not along political lines, but as a gender discourse, where a decline in representation in Parliament becomes a denial of a democratic good in itself, since women constitute the majority of the population, across.

The 2023 female victory slumped slightly from the 25 women who won in 2018 (11.9 percent) and the 26 women who were in Parliament in 2013 (12.4 percent).

It is in situation like these, when political analysts and civic organisations representing women remind the nation that humanity is divided grosso modo 50-50 between women and men.

It therefore becomes reasonable and necessary that each gender should have equal representation, in political governance to ensure fair representation of aspirations, and expectations from each sex.

As has become the norm, many reasons –the same in the past years- were attributed to the decline.

Reasons included the presence of rigid structural systems that keeps women out, lack of resources, patriarchy, lack of electoral laws that deliberately support gender equality and failure by political parties to support women with either resources or structurally.

Other sections of society choose to parrot the usual sentiments that women do not support each other without looking at systematic diversionary tactics that make it practically impossible for women to be elected despite their levels of ingenuity.

However, history has also shown that the dynamics between women’s capabilities and ambitions on one hand, and the political will and political power of the “gatekeepers” of the parties on the other hand, determine the extent to which women can participate in politics, not only in Zimbabwe but globally.

With the same reasons being given to the perennial dismal decline in representation, there is now need for a paradigm shift to dismantle persistent obstacles that hinder female progression in politics.

Political parties through their youth wings should nurture aspiring female politicians by promoting robust mentorship programmes for young women enrolled in tertiary institutions who would have shown interest in politics.

The mentorship programmes can support the growth of women’s political skills including communication and interpersonal skills as well as policy-related knowledge.

Such structured mentorship programmes can also encourage consideration of women’s political purpose and build networks and resources that women will need to successfully become candidates for election.

On personal level, family attitudes and support – both practical and emotional is also an important feature in preparing women for political leadership.

Through interviews and interactions I have had over the years female politicians often refer to experience and skills their families supported them with to build their political careers.

Even personal development becomes an important enabler when one is eyeing for political office.  Speaking during one of the meetings organised by the Gender Media Connect (GMC) for aspiring and established female politicians sometime in April this year, the duly elected Member of Parliament for Chikomba West, Cde Tatenda Mavetera, chronicled her meandering political journey, as she tried her hand in politics.

Conceding that politics was no walk in the park, Cde Mavetera strategised her political journey by engaging in various activities-including audition for a role in a local soap Studio 263-so that she could hone her skills in public speaking.

Having gained enough experience and exposure, Cde Mavetera became a Zanu PF Seke-Chikomba MP (Proportional Representation) in the 2018 elections, a feat that left many thinking that the young but aggressive politician had reached her political zenith.

Imbued by a passion to serve, she did not sit on her laurels, but continued working with the grassroots, a development that culminated in her victory, where she clobbered her opponent, winning the right to represent thousands of voters in Chikomba West.

Cde Mavetera who will be sworn in today (Thursday) is probably among the youngest female Parliamentarians, who pursued their dreams with vigour, despite limited resources. Together with the other 21, Cde Mavetera navigated the rugged terrain to dismantle patriarchal barriers that view women as less competent than men.

The success of the 22 is actually victory to all women, including the aspiring female candidates who fell by the roadside during the primary and harmonised elections.

Rather than pigeon themselves along political party lines, the 22 should coalesce around each other and promote political sisterhood as they embark on an excursion to serve the people who voted them in power.

That female vote can only become real, if women choose to support each other, knowing fully well that what comes out of the governance plate will naturally slide into their plates and the constituencies they represent.

New research in the Harvard Business Review reveals that while both men and women benefit from having a network of well-connected peers across different groups, women who also have an inner circle of close female contacts are more likely to land executive positions with greater authority and higher pay, than those who choose to be political hermits.

Having noted that men are not their close allies when they enter the political ring, female politicians need to form close connections with other women, who can share experiences from fellows who have been there, done that — from how to ask for what you are worth to bringing your unique talents to leadership.

Aspiring female politicians will also need to find their squads within their political parties, tap into them and also amplify other women who have hold the same aspirations, while learning from female generals, who have been in politics for long.

As the journey for the 22 female Member of Parliament begins today-soon after the swearing in ceremony- they should begin to think and work around the adage which says “there is nothing more powerful than an outstretched hand of another woman in your direction”.

A disaggregation of the voting patterns and the voter in any part of the world will reveal that women are strategic in determining leadership and governance issues because they are the majority of voters.

Because they are affected by the same systems that discriminate them at all levels, women will derive numerous benefits from having more females in power, so that they can collectively initiate policies that address problems they face.

Women are more likely than men to perform caretaking roles — like raising children — and both historically and today they are more likely than men to want stronger healthcare, housing, education, childcare and anti-poverty programmes. Such differences, which disenfranchise the two sexes, should then shape the “women’s vote.”

That female vote can only become real, if women choose to support each other, knowing fully well that what comes out of the governance plate will naturally slide into their plates.

On the other hand, African leadership also has a responsibility to walk the talk by continuously propping up women in political leadership to ensure diversification in governance and the promotion of pro-poor policies that cater for the majority. Paving the way for more women in the political, business, and civic arena is an investment in more just, equitable, and peaceful societies.

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