BY NYASHA DUBE
Despite being viewed by some citizens and civil society organisations as mere tokenism, the Women’s Quota System has been hailed by debutante proportional representation elects as a step in the right direction towards women’s political emancipation in Zimbabwe.
The quota system, which was adopted in the 2013 new constitution and was set to expire this year, was renewed for another 10 years through the constitution amendment number 2 of 2021.
Part of the provisions of the amendment is on women’s quota for local authorities. It provides that a political party contesting in local authority elections may submit a nomination paper with names of women as party list candidates.
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the party list for local authority must have at least 30% of the total members of the local council, and each candidate must be a woman who is eligible in terms of section 119(2) the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13.
Joyce Chigwida from Mazowe Mashonaland, who made her debut into politics as a proportional representation (PR) local authority candidate for Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), was elected in the 23 to 24 August 2023 elections.
“I feel that as a woman I got a chance to sit where decisions are made and this is a step in the right direction as I will also get to stand up for other women in my community as well at council meetings,” said Chigwida.
Whilst Chigwida made it to the decision making table, she was not spared from the socioeconomic barriers facing women in politics.
Chigwida says she faced financial challenges in running her campaign and filing for nomination.
This comes at a time when most women, from presidential level to council, failed to make it past nomination stage because of the exorbitant fees.
ZEC increased nomination fees by a sharp 1.900%, and this further disadvantaged women who are already poorly represented in parliament and local authority.
The presidential nomination fee rose to $20 000 from $1 000, whilst nomination fee for Members of Parliament went from $50 to $1 000. Party list nomination doubled from $100 to $200.
“During my campaign I experienced financial challenges because of the demands of the process, filing my nomination documents as well as the door to door campaigns. I hit hard times and had no one to help me out financially. I had to borrow money which landed me in debt. I even used my child’s examination registration money. I almost dropped out of the contest,” said Chigwida.
Women like presidential candidate Linda Masarira of the Labour Economists and African Democrats party also failed to file their nomination papers because of political economy factors.
Only one female presidential Elisabeth Valerio of the United Zimbabwe Alliance made it to the race, although she had to fight he way through in courts.
Women’s participation also decreased in parliament and local authorities, in 2023 compared to 2018.
Zimbabwe also hasn’t had a female vice president since the dismissal of Joyce Mujuru during the reign of Robert Mugabe, and hopes for a female vice president during the 2023 to 2028 term have been shattered as President Emmerson Mnangagwa reinstated Retired General Constantine Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi.
Despite all these socioeconomic and structural barriers, Chigwida says she will work hard to ensure that women’s grievances get the attention they deserve.
“Women lack access to socioeconomic opportunities as such I will make it my mandate to lobby for progressive policies that promote women’s inclusion. I will also advocate for gender responsive service delivery,” she said.
She adds women in politics need mentorship and capacity strengthening so that they are better equipped to navigate the political terrain.
“Institute for Young Women’s Development capacitated me with leadership skills and motivated me to engage into politics so that I have a say as a woman so as to uplift other women in my community, this gave me confidence to soldier on even though the journey was tough,” said Chigwida.
The debate around the efficiency and efficacy of the women’s quota system has been controversial.
When constitutional amendment bill number 2 was proposed, 1000 women aspiring leaders rejected it through letters that were sent to parliament on 20 February 2020, saying it is being used by political parties to deny women an opportunity to contest for actual constituency and council seats.
The bill was passed in 2021, and according to Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), the PR system has overally increased women’s participation in elections, democracy and governance although there is need for improved political will within institutions to improve women’s representation not only on paper but in practice as well.