By Kelvin Kasiwulaya/Thelma Wandayi
In the wake of the recent appointment of Zimbabwe’s cabinet ministers, women’s groups across the country are voicing their concerns and calling for action to address the gender imbalance within the political spheres.
Out of the 23 cabinet ministers appointed by President Mnangagwa, only 6 are women, concerns have been raised about the disregard for constitutional provisions and the unequal representation of women in top positions.
Linda Masarira, President of the Labour, Economists and African Democrats (LEAD)political party, expressed her disappointment, saying, “23 Cabinet ministers for a small teapot-shaped country is just too much. Only 6 out of the 23 cabinet ministers are women.”
Masarira’s says that there is need for equal gender representation in positions of power.
“Section 17 of the constitution of Zimbabwe has been violated yet again as the women appointed only constitute 26% of the cabinet ministers. Gender balance is only bring considered for appointment of provincial ministers which is a clear indication of selective application of the law”, said Masarira
Sharing similar sentiments, Elisabeth Valerio, the president of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) party and the only female presidential candidate in the recent harmonized elections, emphasized the importance of women’s political participation and influence in achieving gender equality.
“President Mnangagwa’s cabinet reflects a gender regression that undermines the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and long-standing efforts towards gender equality,” said Valerio
She pointed out that the appointments contradict past government commitments to gender mainstreaming and achieving gender balance in governance.
“President Mnangagwa’s cabinet ministers include only 6 women and 20 men. This contradicts past government pronouncements and stakeholder efforts to achieve gender balance in the governance of Zimbabwe. Women and girls constitute 52% of our country’s population yet they continue to be underrepresented across key sectors resulting in limited opportunities to influence policy and access economic and legal protections”, said UZA president.
Women’s advocacy groups, such as Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE),echoed the concerns, over the low number of female appointments.
WALPE says this does not reflect the constitutional provisions for equal representation and reflects a lack of willpower to appoint more women in political leadership positions.
“We are deeply concerned with the number of women who were appointed into the Cabinet as Ministers as it is too low. Out of 23 Ministers, only six are women, and of the six. one is new in the Cabinet. Sections 17, 56 and 80 of the Zimbabwean Constitution makes provisions for the equal representation of men and women, but the selection of Cabinet Members does not reflect the Constitutional gender provisions. The President had a wide pool of women and young women candidates to choose from in Parliament, yet he selected only six women Cabinet members. Moreover, it reflects a lack of willpower to appoint more women into the upper echelons of political leadership,” said WALPE
Adding credence to their concerns, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) highlighted that women remain underrepresented in key decision-making areas such as Parliament and the Cabinet ,stating, “The reality in Zimbabwe is that women remain under- represented in key decision-making areas such as Parliament and Cabinet”
WCOZ says the recently concluded elections unveiled the patriarchal nature of public leadership and the systemic discrimination against women.
“The just-ended 2023 Elections, in particular the National Assembly race, have laid bare the patriarchal nature of public leadership and the systemic discrimination of women, embedded at every level in the Zimbabwe society,” said WCOZ
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), in their position paper on Mechanisms to Increase Representation of Women in Elections and Governance in Zimbabwe highlighted the need for enabling acts that go beyond constitutional guarantees to ensure gender equality in political representation, stating, “Constitutional guarantees on gender are not enough but should be made achievable through enabling acts that will clarify expectations, provide an implementation framework for institutions and outline penalties for non-compliance, such as a Gender Equality Act”
ZESN says that despite having a relatively progressive gender legislative framework, Zimbabwe still struggles to translate these efforts into meaningful representation for women in elections and governance.
“While Zimbabwe has a relatively progressive gender legislative framework, this is still to translate into increased women’s representation in elections and governance. The country is still to have truly national strategies that go beyond piecemeal strategies to increase women’s numerical rather than meaningful representation and enable women to enter government; support women in government and build their capacity: tackle underlying prejudices in institutions; raise the profile of gender issues; and ensure public spending targets meet women’s as well as men’s needs,” said ZESN
International organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) have stressed the importance of gender equality in politics.
According to the IPU, women make up only 26% of parliamentarians globally, while UN Women reports that only 11% of heads of state and government are women. Rwanda stands out as a global leader in promoting women’s representation in politics, with 61% of parliamentary seats held by women.
These statistics reflect women’s representation in politics is still far from satisfactory, with Zimbabwe also falling behind the global average.
As Zimbabwe grapples with this pressing issue, the demand for gender equality in political leadership continues to resonate.