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Bulawayo Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has come up with a mentorship programme targeted at encouraging more women to participate in politics.

The commission says the programme will also address the country’s political domain infested with gender intolerance which often manifests in violence, name calling, body shaming, sexual exploitation and harassment, stereotyping and systemic exclusion — predominantly against women.

In a statement yesterday, ZGC said the programme will be implemented in partnership with United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Women Rise in Politics (WRiP). “The programme which targets the  2023 national elections and beyond, has been necessitated by the decrease in the participation and representation of women in the recent past national elections. Women do not only constitute around 52 percent of the total population but are also the majority of voters in Zimbabwe,” said ZGC.

“Despite these facts, women hold only 23 percent of elective parliamentary seats, 13, 3 percent of local government seats and 48 percent of the Senate. These unfortunate statistics are an affront to the aspirations of Zimbabweans for full gender equality (50-50) as captured in the Constitution.”

ZGC added that prevalent negative practices have hindered meaningful participation and representation of women in politics other than as voters.

“It is against this unfortunate background that the Commission, in conjunction with UN Women and other development partners, initiated the Women Rise in Politics initiative. The programme will rest on the principle of inclusivity and therefore young women, women living in rural areas, women with disabilities, women living with HIV, among other diversity, are especially encouraged to apply,” said ZGC.

Those interested may visit http://www.zgc.co.zw or contact ZGC chairperson Ms Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe on 0712214203/ 0772869214. They can also contact ZGC chief executive officer Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa on 0712899543/ 0772327955