SADC’s gender declaration has only really been successful in Rwanda where women’s representation in Parliament is 52%. In Zimbabwe the highest representation to date has been 22%.
The primary barriers are those of gender, culture (or societal norms) and religion. Most African cultures perceive women as having primary responsibilities as wives and mothers.
The best they are expected to do is to manage domestic activities like cleaning, cooking and serving food. “Musha mukadzi”. The prevailing culture insists that their lives should be centered on churches, burial societies and charities rather than politics.
But the skills displayed in managing a home can just as well be transferred to national issues. If women are such talented bakers, why should they not be given a share of the national cake?
Recently, in the new Zimbabwe, Gladys Mavusa was persecuted by her community and fellow party members for declaring her intention of becoming an MP in ward 25 of Marange District. She said the village chief openly told her to relocate and go to an area where men wanted to be ruled by women. She was further accused of being a prostitute.
Educating communities to understand the significance of women in the processes of decision-making could help to address the stereotypes that are promoted by such negative attitudes,
Crooked religious beliefs are also used by some prophets prophets to discourage women fom participating in politics. In Marange it is disappointing to note that the apostolic church is proclaiming prophesies that hinder women from acquiring high political positions.
A biblical view of women’s position in politics is found in Romans 10; 12 – “We are all equally justified by faith, have equally access to God, all bear the same God’s image,” – a clear illustration of equality.
Limited access to education is a major factor that hinders women from participating in politics. Female illiteracy outnumbers that in men by two to one. Education, whilst powerful, can be divisive. Those who are educated tend to look down on the uneducated, and fail to give them credit for the abilities they have. While an understanding of political jargon is vital, and an appreciation of its ideologies and strategies is important, these can become obstacles for those without the benefit of an academic background.
For those women who are already involved in politics, situations can arise where their security is jeopardized. Women make huge sacrifices to enter politics, putting their lives and those of partners and family members on the line. For example Beatrice Mtetwa, the human rights lawyer who was unlawfully detained and ill-treated by the police while following up a case of anti-corruption officers.
Violence has been widely used as a political tool in Zimbabwe for many decades now. For the past 10 years numerous incidents have been recorded of WOZA
(Women of Zimbabwe Arise) members arrested, harassed, imprisoned and severely beaten by the police for exercising their right to peaceful protest.
Financial issues, including difficulties in accessing resources for specific projects, can also discourage women from entering politics. The political parties act in Zimbabwe allocates monies in the national budget to be shared proportionately according to the number of legislators each political party has in Parliament – but women MPs have been relying on tokens.
Women in Politics Support Unit (WSPSU) have acknowledge that women’s representation is low due to barriers like, funding, violence, culture, policies and so on. They are currently training women MPs and councillors and linking them with their constituents in a move aimed at promoting women’s voices to be heard.
Media stereotypes also cause problems for women in Zimbabwe. Without training in communication skills women cannot be expected to articulate political concerns with the persuasive confidence that is necessary to effect change. Internet communications are commonly used in this media era. Facebook now gives a reach of millions of people worldwide and twitter’s high profile in the media is likely to be a strong driver in today’s politics. But in Zimbabwe women suffer from negative publicity. They are perceived as second class citizens. The media seems to be gender blind; women are not recognized at all.
The major political parties promote women involved in politics actively; therefore the high positions from which women could address this imbalance remain unattainable. Even those women who are in high positions, no matter how vocal they are, in most cases do not bring about the needed change.
How far we are from having women of the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel; U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the president of the Indian National Congress Party Sonia Gandhi, Joyce Banda, President of Malawi or Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia.
Women in Zimbabwean can make a difference and there is need for a paradigm shift, a total change of cultural and societal values in order to attract women into politics. – continue the discussion by emailing chenaimudzamiri@yahoo.co.uk
Post published in: News