Zim pursues Gender Equality Act amid decline of wo...

Zim pursues Gender Equality Act amid decline of women in politics

Zim Now Writer

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission has advocated for the alignment of the Electoral Act to the Constitution and to lobby for a Gender Equality Act that will provide for 50 percent of women’s representation in Parliament following the decline in their participation in politics.

The ZGC is calling for the alignment of the Electoral Act to Section 56(2) of the Constitution which says, women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural, and social spheres.

According to a ZGC report presented at the National Gender Forum underway in Bindura, there were 70 female National Assembly candidates in 2023, a significant drop from 243 in the 2018 elections which is a drop from 15 percent in 2018 to 11 percent this year.

The number of women who participated in the Presidential race also fell by 11 percent while that of female local government contestants dropped to 15.1 percent in 2023 from 17 percent in 2018.

ZGC chairperson, Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe said while women have benefitted from the quota system there is a decline in the number of women directly elected to Parliament as provinces like Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland South have no females directly elected to the National Assembly.