The Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence, WALPE Zimbabwe, has appointed Varaidzo Zhou as its new Executive Director, effective July 1, 2026.
Zhou takes over after serving as WALPE Zimbabwe’s Deputy Director, with the organisation saying she brings years of commitment to its mission and to the women and girls at the centre of its work.
WALPE also thanked Takunda Jessie Chihota for what it described as exceptional leadership during her tenure as Interim Executive Director.
The leadership change comes at a critical time for women’s political and civic participation in Zimbabwe, where women remain highly influential as voters, consumers, caregivers, entrepreneurs and community organisers, but are still underrepresented in elected leadership.
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WALPE, established in 2018, describes itself as a women’s rights feminist organisation working to promote women’s economic, social, environmental and political rights, while equipping women to take up leadership roles at local and national level. (walpe.org.zw)
Zimbabwe’s gender leadership gap remains significant. The Inter-Parliamentary Union lists women as holding 30.1% of seats in Zimbabwe’s National Assembly and 44.3% in the Senate, with the National Assembly figure still below parity despite the country’s constitutional gender equality commitments and the women’s quota system. (data.ipu.org)
The 2023 Gender Observatory report by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission noted that the 2023 elections showed a lack of compliance with constitutional provisions on equal participation of women and men in political and decision-making spaces. (UNDP)
Women are also a major demographic force. World Bank data shows women made up 52.3% of Zimbabwe’s population in 2024, while reporting around the 2023 elections also noted that women made up more than half of the registered voter population. (World Bank Open Data)
Beyond politics, women are central to the economy. Zimbabwe’s MSME sector has been described by government as contributing around 60% of GDP, with women reportedly making up 56% of the sector’s workforce. (TV BRICS
Zhou’s appointment therefore places WALPE in a strategic position to deepen its work on women’s leadership, political participation, community influence and economic empowerment at a time when women are central to both national development and public decision-making.
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