Calvin Manika
HWANGE women leaders have revealed that political violence is one of the reasons why most women shy away from politics and in governance and electoral processes, The Zambezi Times has learnt.
Speaking during a virtual meeting on Strengthening Women’s Advocacy for Inclusive Government (SWAG), Ward 5 Councilor Tendai Sibanda said women are scared to be involved in politics because of violence.
“In political leadership, women are scared to get involved because hate politics has been associated with too much violence both physical and sexual,” she said.
She claimed women lag behind in politics because there is no support from their female counterparts. She encouraged women to stand with other women for development purposes.
“Where a woman stands up, we should support them. Statistics show that women are more than males but it’s disheartening to see few women as leaders,” said Sibanda.
Fani Chirwa, a councilor for ward 8 echoed similar sentiments saying women need to support each other politically.
“As women leaders we need to embrace, support and groom them (young leaders) so that women women continue to stay politics and in decision making positions,” said Chirwa.
Meanwhile, Catherine Madonado, the chairperson for the WCoZ Hwange chapter said the virtual meeting sought to support women to come together and build a common agenda on women’s political participation.
“Women in leadership are faced with various challenges in executing their duties hence this meeting seeks to provide a platform for us to map out strategies to mitigate the challenges,” said Madondo.
However, during the meeting it came out that lack of support, physical abuse as well as cultural beliefs are some of the factors that result in women being unable to participate in politics.
