“It is feasible for Zimbabwe to realize MDG 3 considering the tremendous progress that the country has made so far, but this is only dependent on how far women are going to contest and take up leadership posts in the elections,” the UN Women’s representative, Hoddan Addou, said at a forum last week to discuss progress in gender equality in the country.
She urged political parties to “work a little harder and ensure that the seats reserved for women are contested by women” and lamented society’s “negative perceptions against female politicians”.
“There is need for a complete change of attitude among the electorate towards women in leadership positions. It is not true that women lack the qualities and the capacity to be leaders,” she said.
The director of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, Virginia Muwanigwa, said women in leadership posts have shown that women can do it. “The current female leaders have done us proud as women and it is not true that women are not qualified for the reserved seats. Women who are going to fill those posts will not be picked randomly but will fill those posts on merit,” she said.
Post published in: News