MUTARE Gender equality is a key component of democracy and electoral processes should be designed to facilitate equal representation between men and women in all spheres of government, a leading womens rights activist said last week. (Pictured: Luta Shaba -- Men will gang up against a female candidate and if the party does not protect Speaking at a media workshop on electoral reforms in Zimbabwe in Mutare last week Womens Trust executive director Luta Shaba said women were key players in the political mobilisation process but were always sidelined when it came to deciding who occupies decision-making positions.
When it comes to reaping the rewards of their work they often get sidelined, said Shaba.
Shaba said discussions on gender and electoral systems must take place in a framework that recognizes the contextual reality in which elections take place in Zimbabwe.
Elections are being held in an impoverished population of which the women who used to be the face of poverty are now invisible as citizens because the men have now taken over that dubious honour, she said.
Shaba added that the elections in Zimbabwe where also being held in a political environment that is charged with violence.
There are realities where the elections are conducted within a populace conditioned to vote buying where the elected representative is perceived as a provider when they themselves do not have any income. There is a legal and policy framework that is riddled with technical landmines that can only be traversed by the experienced or those represented by the knowledgeable, she said.
Traditionally, said Shaba, women have owned and controlled fewer resources than men and this places the women at a disadvantage as compared to their male counterparts when they decide to run for national office.
Men only have to contend with the opposition political parties. Women have to contend with the opposition of their male colleagues first, before they take on the other parties, she said.
Shaba said this hostility extends to smear campaigns mostly on irrelevant issues like the marital status, chastity or dress code of the female incumbent.
Literacy and education level are also thrown in for good measure. When these fail outright, intimidation and assault have been used. Whereas, men will compete with other men one to one, they will gang up against a female candidate and if she is not protected by the party she will be hounded out of the race, said Shaba.