On this International Women’s Day, Veritas joins the global community in honouring the resilience, achievements and contributions of women in Zimbabwe and across the world. The 2026 theme is:
“Give to Gain”.
It reminds us that societies flourish when they give women the space, resources and respect they deserve – because empowering women is not a loss, but a collective gain.
This message carries particular weight in Zimbabwe, where women and girls constitute more than half of the population – over 52 per cent. To weaken protections for women is therefore to weaken protections for the majority of our citizens.
Hence it is tragic that the proposed Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) Bill threatens to dismantle the Zimbabwe Gender Commission [ZGC] and merge its functions into the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [ZHRC]. According to the Bill’s memorandum, the Human Rights Commission is mandated to protect all human rights, including gender rights, so the amendment will remove a duplication of functions. This may sound reasonable on the surface, but when one delves deeper it is highly unsatisfactory. The ZGC does not in fact duplicate the functions of the ZHRC.
The amendment, if passed, would undermining decades of progress and contradicts the spirit of “Give to Gain”. Though framed as “restructuring,” the amendment will fundamentally alter the architecture for gender equality, erasing hard-won gains. It is a highly retrogressive step. It will result in:
- Loss of specialised oversight: The ZGC was created as a dedicated watchdog for gender equality. Its abolition will dilute focus, forcing gender issues to compete with broader human rights concerns.
- Less Protection for women and girls: Survivors of gender-based violence and discrimination may face reduced visibility and support, leaving them more vulnerable.
- Reduced accountability and advocacy: The ZGC has held institutions accountable for gender mainstreaming. Without it, gender-specific monitoring risks being sidelined.
- Conflict with international obligations: Zimbabwe risks breaching its commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women [CEDAW] [link] and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights [the Maputo Protocol] [link], which require member States to have strong, independent gender-focused institutions.
On this day, we affirm that to give women strong, independent institutions is to gain a more just, equitable, and prosperous Zimbabwe. True progress comes not from dismantling protections, but from reinforcing them.
We call on Parliament, civil society, and all citizens to resist measures that will silence women’s voices and weaken their protections. Giving women an institution for robust oversight and accountability is not optional – it is a path to national strength and democratic integrity.
Let us stand together to ensure Zimbabwe’s daughters, sisters and mothers are not left behind. When we give to women, the majority of our nation, we gain as a people.
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Post published in: Featured