Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Parliament and the WPSU in Harare last week, Ngaru said that, in the political sphere, women had claimed a 36 per cent stake at the 2013 elections. More women held influential party positions, making the 2015 deadline achievable.
To beat the deadline, the WPSU is making actively campaigning for women to take part in decision-making across all sectors of the economy.
“As an organisation, we help empower and capacitate women to play influential roles in politics and all walks of life,” said Ngaru.
She said the WPSU conducted workshops to build confidence and knowledge among aspiring and already-serving female politicians. According to Ngaru, for women to participate properly, there is a need to help them build their skills and knowledge.
The speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, said he appreciated the role played by the WPSU in empowering women politicians.
Mudenda said: “The 2013 elections created a huge number of MPs who needed capacity building to perform.”
He said organisations such as the WPSU could help MPs gain the skills they needed to conduct parliamentary business effectively. Women politicians said the WPSU courses left them in a better position to take part in decision-making.
“We acquired knowledge and skills on how to conduct campaigns and encourage other women to participate at higher levels in politics,” said Harare Ward 41 councillor Charity Bango.
Bango said that, even if they had the knowledge, many female politicians were held back by lack of resources. Another beneficiary of the WPSU training, former deputy chairperson for Norton town council, Nyemudzayi Marukutira, said she learnt how to prepare speeches, talk and present herself at public gatherings. She also leant how to initiate self-empowerment projects around wards.
Post published in: News