The speaker of the National Assembly told The Zimbabwean the increased number of women in Parliament following the last election had brought women’s issues to the fore.
“Women parliamentarians, for the first time in the history of Zimbabwe, have made a difference. They have come out strongly on issues to do with gender inequality, violation of rights of the girl child and women, and corruption wherever it raises its ugly head,” said Mudenda.
Legislators such as Jessie Majome, Thokozani Khupe, Priscilla Misihairabwi, Tabitha Khumalo and Irene Zindi, to name but a few, have made landmark contributions to the law-making process. Majome continues to advocate for the eradication of gender-based violence and other forms of oppression of the girl child and women.
Khupe introduced a cancer levy with the full support of other women MPs. The women’s caucus is one of the institutions women lawmakers use as a vehicle to deal with issues affecting their own gender.
The Zimbabwe parliamentary women’s caucus was launched in 2001 in line with the SADC Parliamentary Forum initiative. Its focus is to enable women to rise above party politics and address national issues affecting women.
The Ministerial Committee on Rape and Gender Based Violence, made up of a significant number of women legislators, recently highlighted the issue of rape cases that were on the rise due to lenient prison sentences given to rapists.
They called for deterring sentences of up to life imprisonment for rapists who rape minors aged 12 and below and perpetrators who infect victims with HIV.
More women made their way into the Zimbabwe Parliament following the adoption of the new constitution ahead of the July 31, 2013 harmonised elections.
The proportional representation provision of the constitution reserved 60 seats for women in parliament for two terms, to promote gender equality.
There are 85 women out of the 270 lawmakers in the National Assembly and 39 out of the 80 senators are women.
Post published in: Gender Equality