Francis Mupazviriho  Correspondent
On 18 May 2011, Reason Wafawarova’s column titled: “Discrediting Women Oppression Fallacious” — was an emotive tribute to Zimbabwean women for their contributions to families and ultimately to the nation.

Yours truly, then an unassuming scholar at Churchill School, had to cut it from the newspaper for posterity, like with many other writings from Wafawarova whom I hold dearly for having inspired my interest in journalism, starting off with a contribution in a student column in The Sunday Mail, beginning a journey in the media which led to mentorship from Charles Mushinga and many others at The Sunday Mail.

Wafawarova wrote about women oppression for the second time, after one reader had also called for a follow up article, largely placing emphasis on Psalms 89 vs 14, which focuses on God’s righteousness and justice for his children, but particularly focusing on women bearing the brunt of abuse.

Furthermore, Wafawarova passionately painted a picture of women’s plural roles, using his late mother who was the “washerwoman, the cleaner, the cook, the errand runner, the matron, the farmer, the healer, the gardener, the grinder, the saleswoman, the comforter, the child minder and the teacher” and so on.

This description amply fits into our mothers, who sacrifice much for the family. Like many others out there, this writer equally has fond memories of his mother, a hard worker, who dually fulfilled the role of the father, after his departure from mother earth, some nine years ago.

Everyone out there regards their mother as the best in the world and this sentimentality is quite understandable given the larger than life characters of our mothers. If these are the personal stories, then imagine what the collective contribution of women to Zimbabwe is.

The International Labour Organisation’s report titled “Resource Guide on Gender Issues in Employment and Labour Market Policies” (2014) notes that the role of women is central to economic growth, poverty reduction and social progress. Equal access to opportunities and employment is, therefore, a human right, according to that publication.

At 37, Zimbabwe has come of age, having made notable progress towards gender equality. At Independence, Zimbabwe had very few employed women, compared to men. To cover the meagre earnings of husbands, most travelled the length and breadth of the region selling doilies, sculptures and other such artefacts, especially in South Africa.

Families were sustained in this manner and houses were built from their sweat. Over a decade ago, we again saw our sisters, aunts and mothers buying goods for resale back at home, all in the name of earning foreign currency.

Today, Zimbabwe has a significant population in the Diaspora sending remittances back home and there is no doubt that women have been the torch-bearers of this drive. Zimbabwe just joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women’s Day.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (better known as UN Women) says the theme for this year is “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives.”

Women in rural areas play a central role in the agricultural work, quite often providing hard labour for the household’s food sustenance. When one talks of Zimbabwe’s food security status, there is often a central role played by women starting from the agricultural value chain processes. The urban woman who could be formally employed or does other forms of economic activity has to balance the demands of family and pressure from work.

When one looks at the tenacity of women, which American rapper Tupac Shakur, likened to a rose that grew from the concrete, there is a reminder that the International Women’s Day’s value goes way beyond officialdom from both state and non-state actors propagating women’s rights largely in terms of access to education, sexual and reproductive rights and many other areas.

Despite her invaluable contribution to the nation, she faces daily challenges.

For two years, this writer was a community officer on gender issues in Muzarabani South, Centenary.

Daily, the work included sensitising communities on Gender Based Violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS and following up cases from the community and in courts as well.

Having been domiciled in the urban setting and then freshly from the university, this experience was useful as a learning curve and quite frightening given the horrendous tales of abuse and the daily challenges encountered by women in rural settings.

The vulnerability of women in this largely rural setting was apparent and this was attributable to a host of factors including Gender Based Violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS and lack of access to opportunities which could be education and at times employment.

While the challenges seemed insurmountable, there were resolute efforts on empowerment drive towards women by way of addressing the inherent economic inequalities.

This was done by way of repayable loans, which also sought to raise the consciousness that they too can engage in meaningful economic activities, with the right financial and institutional support.

Most engaged in small-scale operations in poultry, while others with more capacity ventured into catering and retail shops at growth points in Muzarabani North and South.

Some of the problems are also encountered by women in urban settings, albeit at a far lesser scale. Whatever the case may be, it is apparent that most of the problems highlighted are felt from a tender age, from infancy up to the teenage years.

The level of vulnerability increases over time, while those fortunate enough continue climbing the ladder thanks to the considerations of female meritocracy, deployment of gender equality in terms of positions at organisations among other such affirmative actions.

While such has been commendable, the scourge of domestic violence, largely affecting women, continues to deter self-belief. Our society has changed and most domestic disputes emanate from extra-marital affairs and other such problems. We see its devastating effects in violence and at times murders.

Today, the same thrust goes for the urban women. Access to finance, skills and utilization of technology is quite imperative for medium and at times commercial operations.

The message of opportunities to urban women cannot be complete without mentioning jobs and skills utilization, as we heard during the Presidential inaugural address last year, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and Davos among many other such platforms.

The labour contribution of women as a key demographic to Zimbabwe is thus massive. Unlike their more vulnerable counterpart in rural settings, women in urban areas have a better leverage due to access to formal education up to tertiary level.

Quite often, vision has been killed in rural areas due to the menace of child marriages and this has been saddening.

We have come a long way in ensuring that women are not disadvantaged at work, by ensuring maternity vacations and other such entitlements, in line with individual rights and values of the decent work programme, which the ILO is pushing and from a gender front, together with other UN Agencies, notable UN-Women.

One cannot talk about building a nation without mentioning women who are the torch-bearers of productivity.

Last week this writer went downtown to Kaguvi Street to buy motor spare parts. This particular shop was solely run by women, with the older ones being in her late 40s, and two young women.

Clad in overalls, with greasy hands and with the language of mechanics (ball joints and so on) on their tongues, this trio defied any gendered limitations of women’s involvement in the economy.

Despite the numerous challenges towards progression, there are many good stories to tell, which do not, however, envelope the much-needed redress impinging on the nation’s growth pursuit, depending on women’s labour dividend.

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