By Nyasha Dube, Zvishavane
Women from across the country broke the bias this weekend as they went out in numbers to cast their votes in the by-elections which were held on the 26th of March.
The elections, which had been set aside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were held to choose national assembly and council representatives.
28 parliamentary seats and 122 local government seats were vacant as a result of recalls and deaths.
Observations by Women’s Weekly Journal at various polling stations indicated that there was an improvement in the turnout of women who cast their votes, compared to previous years.
Hands of Hope Trust director Millicent Nhutsve commended this move saying it shows that the efforts of women’s rights organizations are not in vain.
Millicent Nhutsve, Hands of Hope Director
She added that women are capable of participating in national processes.
“This is a great milestone for the feminist leadership movement and civic participation education as it shows that women now understand their power and ability to influence change,” said Nhutsve.
“We hope that in the 2023 elections we will see more women in their diverse groups exercising their right to vote and choosing leaders who can advocate for and implement gender responsive services,” she said.
The constitution of Zimbabwe promotes gender equality, non discrimination and the right to political participation for all.
However the low number of females who contested in the by-elections is worrying, as they constituted only 15% of the candidates.
Out of the 118 contestants, only 16 were female while 102 were male, indicating a gap in terms of achieving gender equality in leadership positions.
As of 2019, Zimbabwe ranked 40th in the world in terms of women’s representation in politics with 31.9%.
In Africa, Rwanda leads with over 60% representation of women in national assembly, followed by Cuba with over 50%. Namibia is third with 46% and South Africa is forth with 42% representation of women in parliament.
Nhutsve urged women to take it upon themselves and vote for female candidates in electoral and leadership processes.
“I urge women to break the bias and stop blaming culture or religion, but go out in their numbers and vote for fellow women,” Nhutsve said.